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MAD   HUMANITY 

ITS  FOEMS 
APPARENT  AND   OBSCURE 


lh»\„  bji  Mr.<s,s.  Biissaiin,  2')  Old  Bond  Street,  London,  W 


/ 


MAD    HUMANITY 

ITS  FORMS 
APPARENT  AND  OBSCURE 


BY 


L.    FOEBES    WINSLOW 

D.C.L.  OXON.  ;    M.B.,  LL.M.  CAilB.  ;    VICE-PRESIDENT  OF  THE  MEDICO-LEGAL 

CONGRESS,  NEW  YORK,  AND  CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  PSYCHOLOGICAL 

DEPARTMENT,  1895  ;   LATE   LECTURER   ON   INSANITY 

AT  CHARING  CROSS  HOSPITAL,  LONDON 


NEW    YORK 

M.   F.   MANSFIELD    AND    COMPANY 

22    EAST    SIXTEENTH    STREET 


THIS   WORK   IS   DEDICATED 

BY   HIS   FRIEND   AND   ADMIEER 

THE  AUTHOR 

TO 

Jprofesaor  €zzaxz  ^omhxosa 

Professore  di  Clincia  Psichiatrica 
della  Universita  di  Torino 

WHOSE   WRITINGS   HAVE   ENRICHED   THE   WORLD   OF 

LITERATURE  AND   MEDICINE 

NOT   ONLY  IN   HIS   OWN   COUNTRY 

BUT   IN   ALL   PARTS   OF   THE   UNIVERSE 

AS   A   MARK   OF   AFFECTION   AND   ESTEEM 

FOR   HIS   DISTINGUISHED   TALENTS 

AND   HIGH   WORLD-RENOWNED   PROFESSIONAL   ATTAINMENTS 

AND   HIS   ORIGINAL   INVESTIGATIONS 

IN   THE   SCIENCE   OF   PSYCHOLOGICAL   MEDICINE   AND   CRIMINOLOGY. 

WHO,    IN   ACCEPTING   THE  DEDICATION, 

WROTE   AS    FOLLOWS  : — 

"  J'accepte,  avec  une  grande  satisfaction,  de  lier  mon  nom  au 

votre,  bien  connu  depuis  un  siecle  par  vous  et  par  celui 

de  votre  pere  qui  premier  a  inspire  mes  pas  dans  la 

psychiatrie  et  dans  la  pathologic,  ou  vous 

avez  laisse  des  traces  si  profondes. 

(Signe)  CESARE  LOMBROSO.' 

Qth  March  1898. 


For,  to  define  true  madness, 

What  is't  but  to  be  nothing  else  but  mad  ? " 

Shakespeare. 


"  There  is  a  pleasure  sure  in  being  mad, 
Which  none  but  madmen  know." 

Drtden. 


"  What,  I  may  be  asked,  is  my  test  of  Insanity  ?  I  have  none. 
I  know  of  no  unerring,  infallible,  and  safe  rule  or  standard,  appli- 
cable to  all  cases." — Forbes  B.  Winslow,  D.C.L.  Oxon.  (Hon.). 

"  Of  lunacy, 
Innumerous  were  the  causes  :  humbled  pride, 
Ambition  disappointed,  riches  lost. 
And  bodily  disease,  and  sorrow  oft 
By  man  inflicted  on  his  brother  man  ; 
Sorrow,  that  made  the  reason  drunk,  and  yet 
Left  much  untasted.     So  the  cup  was  filled." 

POLLOK. 


"  I  have  bethought  myself, 
To  take  the  basest  and  the  poorest  shape, 
That  ever  penury,  in  contempt  of  man, 
Brought  near  to  beast :  my  face  I'll  grime  with  filth  ; 
Blanket  my  loins  ;  put  all  my  hair  in  knots  ; 
And  with  presented  nakedness  out-face 
The  ^\•inds,  and  persecutions  of  the  sky." 

Shakespeare. 


PEEFACE 

The  object  I  have  in  view  in  writing  this  book  is 
to  place  before  my  readers  the  most  important 
features  and  characteristics  of  a  terrible  complaint, 
which  is  causing  much  suffering  and  misery  at  the 
present  day.  A  question,  which  has  come  before 
the  consideration,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  as  to  the  alarming  increase  of 
insanity,  is  sufficient  excuse  for  my  drawing  public 
attention  to  such  a  vital  matter. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  show  that  the  increase  of 
insanity,  which  has  been  of  a  progressive  nature  for 
many  years,  is  real  and  not  apparent.  I  have  clearly 
shown  that  much  of  this  increase  is  due  to  that 
terrible  vice,  indulgence  in  alcohol,  and  the  facts,  as 
placed  before  my  readers,  and  the  cases  illustrative 
of  this  point,  I  consider  to  be  conclusive.  I  have 
compared  the  condition  of  the  insane,  as  it  existed 
a  century  ago,  to  what  it  is  at  the  present  moment ; 
I  have  avoided  all  legal   and  medical   considerations 


viii  MAD  HUMANITY 

of  the  subject,  and  I  have  endeavoured  to  be  as  free 
as  I  possibly  can  from  technicalities.  I  have  drawn 
attention  to  the  more  common  forms  of  mental 
disorder,  and  to  those  which  are  liable  to  be  of  every- 
day occurrence,  and  to  obscure  and  unrecognised 
cases.  I  have  given  a  large  number  of  examples, 
the  majority  of  which  have  come  under  my  own 
observation,  to  illustrate  the  strange  mental  features 
in  the  individual  chapters.  No  names  are  given, 
except  those  who  have  brought  themselves  within 
the  pale  of  the  law,  and  whose  cases  have  been 
publicly  reported  in  the  daily  press. 

With  regard  to  the  photographs,  I  have  obtained 
these  from  asylums  I  have  visited  on  the  Continent, 
and  they  are  the  most  typical  ones  I  could  find  to 
represent  the  respective  forms  of  mental  degeneration 
I  am  describing. 

As  to  the  handwriting,  the  majority  of  the 
specimens  are  those  of  inmates  of  lunatic  asylums 
at  the  present  moment,  and  whose  cases  are  classified 
under  the  respective  heads  in  which  I  give  them. 
I  have  said  a  good  deal  about  the  incipient  and 
premonitory  symptoms  of  insanity.  I  have  entered 
fully  into  the  question  of  Madness  and  Genius,  and 
endeavoured  to  bring  this  matter  up  to  date,  and 
in  these  views  I  am  in  accord  with  Professor 
Lombroso,  of  Turin,  with  whom  I  have  had  an  oppor- 


PREFACE  IX 

tunity  of  discussing  the  question.  In  my  last  chapter 
I  have  shown  the  degeneration  of  the  human  race  to 
be  in  gradual  and  sad  progression.  I  have  avoided  a 
lengthy  discussion  of  crime ;  this  is  not  my  object  in 
this  book.  In  a  future  work  I  am  writing,  on  the 
Insanity  of  Passion  and  Crime,  the  matter  shall 
receive  my  fullest  consideration.  I  hope  that  this 
production  will  be  followed  by  much  good,  and 
will  be  the  means  of  enabling  some  to  detect  the 
incipient  progress  of  mental  diseases,  and  that  it 
may  be  of  interest  to  others  engaged  in  the  sacred 
duty  of  the  consideration  and  well-being  of  those 
whose  minds  have  become  mentally  afflicted,  and 
who,  by  the  early  recognition  of  the  malady,  may, 
by  taking  prompt  measures,  prevent  a  further 
increase  in  this  disease.  In  conclusion,  I  present 
this  book,  with  the  conviction  that  it  may  be  the 
means  of  benefiting  humanity  in  general,  and  thus 
enable  some  to — 

"  Fetter  strong  madness  in  a  silken  thread, 
Charm  ache  with  air,  and  agony  with  words." 

L.  FORBES  WINSLOW. 

33  Devonshire  Street,  Portland  Place, 
London,  W.,  September  1898. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   I 

MADHOUSES THEIR    PAST    HISTORY 

First  Hospital  for  the  Insane  —  Previous  Custody  of  Lunatics — 
History  of  Bethlem  Hospital  —  First  Asylum  in  France — 
Treatment  of  Lunatics  in  Reign  of  Elizabeth — Oliver  Cromwell's 
Porter  insane — Experiments  in  Lunatics  by  Royal  Society — The 
same  Experiments  in  Paris — Superstitious  Feeling  as  to  Insane 
in  1797 — Scene  in  a  Madhouse,  Hogarth's  Picture  —  Bethlem 
Hospital,  Interior  of,  in  1808,  Description  of — Condition  of 
Asylums  in  1820 — Vagrant  Act,  1744,  dealing  with  Lunatics — 
Committee  of  the  House,  1763 — Townsend's  Lunacy  Bill,  1773 — 
Gordon's  Act,  1828 — Lord  Ashley's  Act,  1844 — Lunacy  Act  of 
1890— Lunacy  Committees  of  1815,  1816,  and  1827,  Evidence 
before  —  Appointment  of  Commissioners  in  Lunacy  —  Private 
Asylums,  Visitation  of  ...  .      Pages  1-20 


CHAPTER   n 

CONDITION    OF    LUNACY 

Statistics  of  Insanity — Insanity  in  relation  to  Celibacy — Diseases  on 
admission  of  Patients — Increase  of  Insanity — Causes  for  Insanity 
— The  Influence  of  Drink  on  Insanity — Influence  of  Seasons  on 


xii  MAD  HUMANITY 

Insanity — Relations  between  Consumption  and  Insanity — Death- 
rate  of  Insanity — Lunacy  in  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  America — 
Influence  of  Civilisation  producing  Insanity — Insanity  in  Asia, 
Cairo,  and  Alexandria — Insanity  in  North  America  —  Savages 
and  Insanity — Insanity  in  Russia  and  Turkey         .    Pages  21-32 


CHAPTER   III 

MADNESS  :    ITS    SYMPTOMS,    VARIETIES,    AND    CHARACTERISTICS 

Divisions^  of  Acute  and  Chronic  Insanity — Acute  Mania,  Symptoms 
of — Terminations  of — Diagnosis  of — Demonomania,  Case  of — 
Demonomaniacs,  Description  of — Monomania,  Principal  Delu- 
sions in — Case  of  Imaginary  Infection — Cases  of  Monomania — 
Manie  raisonante,  Symptoms  of — Homicidal  and  Suicidal 
Monomania — Monomania,  or  Fear  of,  Folie  de  doute,  Symp- 
toms of — Melancholia,  Symptoms  and  Diagnosis,  Varieties  and 
Terminations  of — Melancholia  following  Influenza  —  Cases  of 
Melancholia  —  Case  of  attempting  to  Poison  whilst  suff"ering 
from  Melancholia — General  Paralysis  of  the  Insane,  Symptoms, 
Diagnosis,  and  Termination — Handwriting  in  General  Paralysis 
— Case  of  General  Parslysis  —  Chronic  Mania,  Symptoms  of — 
Dementia,  Symptoms  of — Insanity  of  Old  Age,  Symptoms  of — 
Softening  of  the  Brain,  Varieties  and  Symptoms  of,  Cases  to 
illustrate  it — Moral  Insanity,  Varieties  and  Symptoms — Cases  of 
Moral  Insanity — Kleptomania,  Detection  of — Feigned  Madness, 
How  detected  and  its  Features  —  Cases  to  illustrate  Feigned 
Madness         .  .  .  .  .  .  33-86 


CHAPTER  IV 

HANDWRITING    OF    THE    INSANE 

Sane  or  Insane  Letters,  as  evidence  in  Courts  of  Law — Erroneous 
Views  concerning — Handwriting  of  Persons  suff'ering  from  Acute 
Mania — Melancholia — General  Paralysis  of  the  Insane — Dementia 
— Chronic  Madness — Strange  Specimens  —  Partial  Imbecility — 
The  constant  \mderlining  of  words  an  evidence  of  some  obscure 
nervous  art'ection  which  often  culminates  in  insanity  87-118 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER    V 

RELIGIOUS    MADNESS 

Epidemics  of  Religious  Madness — Religious  Infatuation — Incantation 
as  a  Remedy  in  the  olden  Days  —  Experiment  on  Religious 
Maniacs — Symptoms  of  Religious  Insanity — The  Incubation  and 
incipient  Symptoms  of  the  Complaint — Statement  of  a  Patient 
suffering  from  Religious  Insanity  —  Bodily  Appearance  of  a 
Religious  Lunatic — Suicidal  Nature  of  such  Cases — Apprehension 
and  Gloom — Danger  of  allowing  such  Cases  to  be  at  large — 
Terminations  of  the  Complaint — The  Intellectual,  Social,  and 
Moral  Causes  for  it     .  .  .  .  Pages  119-141 

CHAPTER  VI 

SUICIDAL    MADNESS 

Mistaken  Notions  of  Honour — The  value  of  mental  Philosophy  on 
Education — The  Influence  of  the  Passions  on  the  Mind — Statistics 
of  Suicide — Suicide  of  a  famous  French  Dancer — Of  a  Nervous 
Gentleman — Influence  of  Remorse  on  the  Mind — Guilty  Feeling 
on  the  Mind — Influence  of  Love  on  the  Mind — Unrequited  Love, 
a  Cause  of  Insanity  in  Women,  and  its  Influence  on  Suicide — 
Increase  of  Suicide  and  Reasons  for  —  Causes  for  Suicide — 
Description  of  a  young  Lady  who  fancied  she  had  been  in  Hell 
—  Dr.  Johnson's  Description  of  his  Melancholy  Condition  — 
Hereditary  Nature  of  Suicide — Cases  to  illustrate  it — Napoleon 
Buonaparte's  Attempt  at  Suicide — The  Influence  of  Despair  on 
the  Mind — Influence  of  Religion  in  producing  Suicide — Strange 
Notions  with  regard  to  Suicide — Average  Number  during  each 
Month — Statistics  of — Causes  for,  in  France — Suicide  in  Pre- 
meditation— Suicide  repugnant  to  all  Human  and  Divine 
Laws  .......  142-180 

CHAPTER  YII 

CRIMINAL    MADNESS 

The  Connection  between  Crime  and  Insanity — Plea  of  Insanity  in 
Criminal  Cases  established  by  the  late  Father  of  the  Author — 


xiv  MAD  HUMANITY 

Case  of  MacNaughten— Opposition  to  the  Plea  of  Insanity— Lord 
Coke's  division  of  Lunacy— The  Responsibility  of  the  Insane- 
Lord  Erskine's  Views  on  the  Subject— The  Difference  between 
Civil  and  Criminal  Law— The  Distinction  between  Right  and 
Wrong  a  Criterion— Propositions  laid  down  by  Judges — Homi- 
cidal Insanity  repudiated  by  the  Bench — The  Distinction  between 
a  Commission  of  Lunacy  and  a  Murder  Trial — Case  of  Mullens — 
Case  of  Prince— Case  of  Rev.  Mr.  Dodwell— Case  of  Constance 
Kent— Difficulty  in  detecting  Mental  Disorder— Custom  adopted 
by  the  late  Samuel  Warren  in  conducting  Inquiry— Lords  Hale 
and  Lyndhurst  on  partial  Insanity — Case  of  Impulsive  Insanity 
—The  Old  Kent  Murder,  my  Examination  of  Prisoner,  and 
extraordinary  Verdict — The  hereditary  Nature  of  Crime — Hang- 
ing Lunatics — Views  expressed  by  my  Father  in  Obscure  Diseases 
of  the  Brain Pages  181-204 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HALLUCINATIONS    OF    HEARING    AND    SEEING 

Crimes  committed  whilst  so  suffering — A  most  dangerous  Symptom 
in  Lunacy — They  obey  the  Voices  they  imagine  they  hear — The 
Otley  Murder  by  Taylor — My  Examination  of  Taylor — Murder 
by  Richardson  at  Ramsgate — My  Examination  of  Richardson — 
Canterbury  Hall  ^Murder  by  Currali — My  Examination  of  Currah 
— Verbatim  Statements  of  Taylor,  Richardson,  and  Currah — 
Hallucinations  existing  in  each  Case — Murder  of  Youth  suffering 
from  Hallucinations — Case  of  the  boy  Bunn,  an  extraordinary 
Action  of  certain  Members  of  the  Chelsea  Vestry  —  Cases  of 
Kleptomania  whilst  suffering  from  Hallucinations  of  Hearing — 
Case  descriptive  of  Delusions  of  seeing  a  Child  cut  up — Other 
Cases  of  Hallucinations         ....  205-224 


CHAPTER   IX 

STRANGE    LUNACY    CASES 

Madwomen,  Statistics  of — Influence  of  Seasons  in  j^roducing  Lunacy 
in   Women  —  Causes   for  this — Women   pursuing   Clergymen — 


CONTENTS  XV 

Curious  Mania,  Case  of — Case  of  Demoniacal  Possession  in  a 
Woman — Sudden  Attack  of  Insanity  in  a  Woman — Static  Melan- 
cholia studied  for  the  Stage  —  The  Symptoms  of  Insanity  in 
AVomen — Exaggerated  Insanity  in  a  Woman — Strange  Symptoms 
in  Women — Case  of  Suicidal  Mania — Case  of  declining  to  wear 
new  Clothes — Case  of  Mental  Abstraction — Case  of  Delusions  of 
Suspicion  —  Other  strange  Cases  in  Women — Case  of  Delusion 
of  being  an  Animal — Case  of  Possession  of  a  Divine  Spirit — 
Strange  Case  of  Concealment  of  Delusions — Madmen,  Cases  of 
— Case  of  Imaginary  Contamination — Case  of  Homicidal  and 
Suicidal  Mania — Case  of  well-known  Actor — Case  of  Mental 
Debility  from  Overwork — Case  of  morbid  Suspicion — Extra- 
ordinary Ti-eatment  of  an  English  Subject  in  Rotterdam  and  my 
subsequent  Action  in — Strange  Case  of  General  Paralysis  of  the 
Insane  mistaken  in  the  first  instance  for  Drink,  my  Action  in — 
Case  of  Loss  of  Memory — Case  of  Injury  to  the  Skull — Case  of 
Nervous  Dread  of  Suicide — Case  of  Noises  in  the  Ears  and  Deaf- 
ness— Case  of  Hallucination  of  Hearing — Plotting  among  the 
Insane,  Strange  Case  of — Strange  Hallucination  between  Sleeping 
and  Waking,  Case  of — Insanity  in  a  Deaf  Mute — Case  of  being 
haunted  by  a  single  Word — Hallucination  of  hearing  Voices — 
Strange  lucid  Analysis  of  some  of  the  Commissioner  in  Lunacy's 
Remarks  by  the  same  patient — Case  of  George  III. 

Pages  225-262 


CHAPTER   X 

OBSCURE    AND    UNRECOGNISED    CASES 

Importance  of  the  early  Recognition  of  Obscure  Symptoms  — 
Vagaries  of  Intellect  and  Conduct  —  What  the  unrecognised 
Lunatic  may  be — Latent  Insanity,  Symptoms  of — Alteration  of 
Manners  an  important  Symptom — Warnings  of  the  Ingress  of 
Lunacy — Case  of  Howard — Case  of  existing  Cruelty — Case  of 
Impulsive  Insanity  caused  by  a  Blow — Case  of  extraordinary 
Brain  Symptoms  and  Titanic  Convulsions  in  a  Lady — Insanity 
in  a  Girl  of  Twelve — Rare  Case — Extraordinary  Case  of  Failure 
of  Memory — Cases  of  Suicide  in  consequence  of  obscure  Brain 
Disease  ......  263-292 


xvi  MAD  HUMANITY 

CHAPTER  XI 

CONFESSIONS    OF    THE    INSANE    AFTER    RECOVERY 

Charles  Dickens  and  a  Madman's  Manuscript  in  Pickwick  Paijers— 
Charles  Bell's  Descrii3tion  of  the  Physiognomy  of  a  Madman  in 
his  Anatomy  of  Expression — The  Description  of  a  Lunatic  by  a 
Novelist — Fascinating  Manners  of  a  Lunatic— Case  of  Demoniacal 
Possession,  extraordinary  Confessions  of  a  Patient — Confessions 
of  a  Patient  who  suffered  from  acute  Mania — Strange  Loss  of 
Memory  during  an  Attack — Confession  of  a  Patient  who  imagined 
he  was  a  Prophet  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem — Strange  Confessions 
of  a  Lady  whilst  affected  by  Hallucinations  caused  by  Morphia 
— Confessions  of  a  Student  at  the  University  suffering  from 
Overwork  —  Extraordinary  Confessions  of  a  Gentleman  who 
attempted  Suicide  —  Recollections  of  a  Madhouse  in  the  Old 
Days  as  described  by  this  Patient — Description  of  a  Ball  given 
at  Morningside  Asylum  by  the  same  Patient — Confessions  of  a 
Patient  suffering  from  Morbid  Religious  Ideas  and  Delusions  of 
Unreality        .....  Pages  293-336 


CHAPTER   XH 

MADNESS    OF    GENIUS 

Genius  a  Morbid  Affection — Professor  Lombroso  on  tlie  Subject — 
Plato's  Paradox  on  Madness  —  Cicero  on  the  same  Subject — 
Genius  a  fatal  Gift  —  Its  Development  in  Infancy — Torquato 
Tasso,  Mania  with  Delusions — Nathaniel  Lee,  Mania  and  Dipso- 
mania— Jonathan  Swift,  Mania,  Organic  Disease  of  the  Brain — 
Richard  Savage,  Moral  Insanity — Samuel  Johnson,  Scrofula  and 
Melancholia — Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  Moral  Insanity — William 
Collins,  ^lelancliolia — Christopher  Sart,  Melancholia — William 
Cowper,  Religious  Melancholia — Dr.  Beattie,  Senile  Dementia 
and  Paralysis — Vittoria  Alfieri,  ]\Ioral  Insanity — Robert  Ferguson, 
Religious  Melancholia  —  Thomas  Chatterton,  Monomania  and 
Suicide — Friedrich  Schiller,  Dipsomania — Robert  Burns,  Dipso- 
mania and  Melancholia  —  Charles  Rogers,  Senile  Dementia — 
Robert    Blomfield,    Monomania    with    partial    Dementia  —  Sir 


CONTENTS  xvii 

Walter  Scott,  Demeutia— Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge,  Monomania, 
Opiophagism— Robert  Southey,  Softening  of  the  Brain— Charles 
Lamb,  Folic  circulaire — Charles  Lloyd,  Paroxysmal  Melancholia 
—James  Gates  Percival,  Melancholia  and  Eccenti'icity  —  Lord 
Byron,  Paralysis  and  Epilepsy— Percy  Bysshe  Shelley,  Demono- 
mania— John  Clare,  Monomania,  Partial  Dementia — Henry  Scott 
Riddell,  Religious  Melancholia— Edgar  Allen  Poe,  Moral  Insanity 
— The  melancholy  condition  of  Actors— Shakespeare  and  his  end 
—Hallucinations  of  Poets— Average  Life  of  Philosopher  and  Poet 
—The  creative  Genius  of  the  Poetical  Mind— Mad  Artists — Ben- 
venuto  Cellini,  Moral  Insanity  with  Hallucinations  —  James 
Barry,  Monomania  with  Delusions  of  Persecution  —  Edwin 
Landseer,  General  Paralysis— AVilliam  Blake,  Hallucinations  of 
Demonomania  and  Strength— Benjamin  Robert  Haydon,  Suicidal 
Madness  —  Joseph  Mallord  William]  Turner,  Dipsomania  and 
Moral  Insanity — Mr,  Tremblay,  the  Flower  Painter,  Mania  for 
Hoarding— George  Morland,  Moral  Insanity — Gottfried  Kund, 
Congenital  Cretinism  — Michael  Angelo,  a  Divine  Madman- 
Mozart's  Imagination— Mad  Actors— Frequent  Impersonation  of 
same  Character— Mrs.  Siddons's  Identification  — W.  Murray, 
Sudden  Mental  Seizure— Dramatic  Hoax— Earliest  Experiences 
of  the  Drama — Dramatic  Nurseries — Contagious  Influences  of 
the  Stage  — Intensification  of  the  Art  — Charles  Macklin,  his 
Talents,  Habits,  and  Mental  Collapse  into  Senile  Dementia — 
Francois  Joseph  Talma,  a  versatile  Actor,  Hallucinations  followed 
by  Mental  Decay— Monrose,  a  great  French  Actor,  Overwork, 
Mental  Disease — Mrs.  Glover,  earliest  Recollections  of— Coralie 
Walton,  her  Talents,  extraordinary  Behaviour  and  Delusions — 
Companies  of  Mad  Actors  — Mad  Persons  acting  rationally  in 
Plays— Cause  for  Insanity  in  Actors— Children  of  Genius,  their 
Peculiarities,  Professor  Lombroso  on — Indulgence  in  Phantasy 
dangerous  — Mental  Collapse  of  Political  Geniuses,  Pitt,  Fox, 
Lord  Randolph  Churchill,  and  Canning       .  Pages  337-412 


CHAPTER   XIII 

MENTAL  DEGEXERATIOX  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE 

Causes  of  Degeneration — Degeneration  caused  by  Opium,  Alcohol, 
and  Tobacco — Drink,  a  prominent  cause  of,  and  Statistics — A 
Case  of  Delirium  Tremens— Hereditary  Influence  of  Drink,  Cases 


xviii  MAD  HUMANITY 

of — Terminations  of  Chronic  Alcoholism — Types  of  Alcoholic 
Degenerates — Terminations  of  Drunkards — The  Opium  Degen- 
erate, and  Characteristics  of — Tobacco  :  its  use  and  abuse — 
Hereditary  Nature  of  Mental  Degeneration — Evils  of  Cigarette 
Smoking — Remarks  on  Marriage,  and  its  Influence  on  Degenera- 
tion— Rules  for  Marriage  in  those  possessing  constitutional  Taint, 
by  Dr.  Winn — Consanguineous  Marriages    ,  Pages  413-44:0 

Index       .......  441-451 


ILLUSTEATIONS 


The  Author  .... 

Chronic  Insanity  .... 

Melancholia  with  Delusions  of  Persecution 

General  Paralysis  of  the  Insane     . 

Imbecility,  2,  3.     Mental  Weakness,  1,  4,  5 

Handwritings  of  the  Insane 

Delusions  of  Persecution  in  Monomania  . 

Monomania  with  Hallucinations  of  Seeing,  1,  2,  3 
Monomania  with  Melancholia,  4,  5.  Folic 
FMisonante,  or  Reasoning  Madness,  6 

Hallucinations  of  Seeing  and  Hearing 

Hallucinations  of  Seeing   . 

Some  Types  of  Madwomen 

Some  Types  of  Madmen    . 

Hysterical  Mania  . 

Suicidal  Dementia 

Epileptic  Mania     . 


.   Frontispiece 

To  face  imcjc     34 

48 

60 

76 

89-115 

To  face  page   134 

190 
206 
222 
238 
260 
276 
290 
410 


CHAPTEE    I 

MADHOUSES THEIR  PAST  HISTORY 

There  are  few  subjects  that  can  engage  the  serious 
attention  and  consideration  of  the  friend  of  humanity 
of  more  importance  and  at  the  same  time  of  more 
painful  interest  than  the  condition  of  the  insane. 

The  feelings  of  every  one  who  is  in  the  enjoyment 
of  that  greatest  of  earthly  blessings,  a  mens  sana  in 
corpora  sano,  are  enlisted  on  behalf  of  the  poor  soul 
who,  bereft  of  nature's  light  and  guide,  is  degraded 
below  his  species,  and  reduced  to  the  level  of  the  beast 
which  perisheth. 

Man's  boasted  prerogative  denied,  the  hapless 
lunatic  wanders,  frail  and  uncared  for,  on  the  shores  of 
this  great  universe,  depending  for  very  existence  upon 
the  sympathy  of  those  more  fortunate.  He  is  but  a 
child  in  their  hands,  and  the  responsibility  is  a  great 
one,  to  win  him  back  to  light  and  reason  by  kindness 
and  protection. 

The  history  of  lunatic  asylums  in  the  past,  their 
management,  the  condition  and  care  of  the  insane,  is 
such  a  blot  upon  our  civilisation,  that  it  is  well  a 
description  should  be  given  of  it,  so  as  to  compare  the 

B 


2  MAD  HUMANITY 

past  with  the  present,  and  the  history  of  asylums  at 
the  commencement  of  the  century  with  that  of  the 
present  time.  It  is  a  curious  question  as  to  what 
became  of  persons  of  unsound  mind  in  the  days  of 
old.  The  ancients  made  no  provisions  for  their  care 
or  treatment,  and  we  read  of  no  public  or  private 
hospitals  for  their  safe  custody  or  maintenance. 
But  as  this  applied  not  only  to  the  insane,  but  to 
ordinary  sick  people,  this  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 
The  lirst  general  hospital  is  ascribed  to  the  Christian 
era.  At  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  Fabiola,  a  pious 
Koman  lady,  founded  an  institution  to  receive  the  sick 
and  poor. 

The  first  hospital  for  the  insane  was  established  in 
491.  This  was  at  Jerusalem.  History  fails  to 
divulge  what  took  place  between  that  date  and  the 
twelfth  century,  when  there  was  founded  a  large 
building  at  Bagdad,  called  "Dal  Almeraphtan/'  or 
"  House  of  Grace."  In  this  place  those  who  had  lost 
their  reason  were  received  and  kept  in  chains  until 
they  recovered.  This  place  was  visited  by  the 
magistrates  monthly,  with  the  view  of  Liberating  those 
who  had  recovered. 

Under  the  feudal  system  of  this  country,  the 
supreme  lord  seized  upon  the  property  belonging  to 
those  mentally  incapacitated,  and  applied  it  to  his  own 
private  use.  This  practice  continued  for  some  time. 
We  have  no  exact  evidence  when  a  change  took  place. 
INIagna  Charta  makes  no  allusion  to  it,  and  history 
reveals  nothing. 

In  Edward  I.'s  reign  we  are  informed  that 
certain  persons,  called  Tutores,  had  the  custody  of 
the    lands    of    lunatics.       In    the    subsequent    reign 


MADHOUSES — THEIR  PAST  HISTORY  3 

was  passed  the  Act  De  Fraerogativa  llefjis,  one 
clause  in  which  enacts  that  ''  the  king  shall  have 
the  custody  of  the  lands  of  natural  fools,  taking  the 
profits  of  thern  without  waste  or  destruction,  and 
shall  find  them  with  necessaries  of  whose  fee  soever 
the  lands  be  so  holden ;  and  after  the  death  of  such 
idiots,  he  shall  render  it  to  the  right  heirs,  so  that 
such  idiots  shall  not  alien,  nor  their  heir  be  dis- 
inherited." Also  "  the  king  shall  provide,  when  any 
that  before  time  hath  had  his  wit  and  memory 
happens  to  foil  of  his  wit,  as  there  are  many  inr 
lucida  intcrvalla,  that  their  lands  and  tenements  shall 
be  safely  kept  without  waste  and  destruction,  and  that 
they  and  their  households  shall  be  maintained  com- 
fortably with  the  profits  of  the  same ;  and  the  residue 
shall  be  kept  for  their  use,  to  be  delivered  unto  them 
when  they  come  to  be  of  right  mind."  The  king,  it 
is  assumed,  had  jurisdiction,  not  only  over  those  born 
insane,  but  also  over  ordinary  lunatics.  Hence  the 
duty  of  providing  and  taking  care  of  those  of  unsound 
mind  devolved  originally  on  the  king,  in  his  capacity 
as  parens  patriae,  as  a  recompense  which  every  subject 
owed  him ;  the  king  was  responsible  for  the  safe 
guardianship  of  the  lunatic,  in  the  same  way  as  the 
Lord  Chancellor  is  at  the  present  day. 

The  care  of  the  lunatic  is,  then,  really  a  "  State  " 
trust,  and  the  Chancellor  now  represents  in  this 
capacity  of  trust  the  Sovereign.  We  may  perceive, 
therefore,  that  the  primary  object  of  legislation  in  the 
earlier  times  was  to  protect  the  property  and  person 
of  the  lunatic.  Little,  if  any  heed,  however,  was  paid 
to  the  medical  or  moral  treatment.  We  have  abun- 
dant evidence  of  cruelty  before  the  establishment  of 


4  MAD  HUMANITY 

recognised  lunatic  asylums.  They  were  frequently 
thrown  into  prison,  and  their  delusions  and  hallucina- 
tions, from  a  misconception  of  their  nature,  caused 
them  to  be  put  to  death. 

The  oldest  hospital  for  the  insane  in  Europe  is 
Bethlem  Hospital.  Henry  VIIL  in  1547  seized 
upon  the  institution,  which  up  to  that  time  had  been 
used  for  a  monastery,  and  presented  it,  with  all  its 
revenues,  to  the  City  of  London  as  a  residence  for 
lunatics.  This  was  absolutely  the  first  establishment 
for  the  insane  founded  in  England. 

In  1644  Bethlem  was  enlarged. 

In  1 675  the  new  building  of  Bethlem  was  completed, 
the  design  being  taken  from  the  Tuileries  in  Paris, 
at  a  cost  of  £17,000,  the  accommodation  then  being 
for  150  patients ;  two  additional  wings  were  added  in 
1734,  and  in  1751  the  Hospital  of  St.  Luke,  situated 
in  the  City  of  London,  was  erected ;  and  in  Man- 
chester, York,  and  other  large  cities,  hospitals  and 
asylums  for  the  insane  were  established. 
-,■'  The  first  asylum  in  France  was  founded  in  1600 
at  Marseilles.  In  Paris  both  rich  and  poor  lunatics 
were  sent  to  the  Hotel  Dieu.  It  was  only  after  a 
visit  to  Bethlem,  that  the  authorities  realised  the 
expediency  of  pubHc  asylums.  A  pamphlet  was  pub- 
lished giving  an  account  of  the  visit,  and  from  that 
time  throughout  all  the  provinces  of  France  and 
England  asylums  began  to  be  established. 
'  Private  asylums  now  came  into  existence,  as  it  was 
found  that  the  relations  and  friends  of  the  rich  who 
were  mentally  afflicted  required  more  privacy  and 
more  comfort  than  those  supported  by  charity. 

In   the   reign   of  Elizabeth,   notwithstanding    the 


MADHOUSES — THEIR  PAST  HISTORY  5 

existence  of  asylums,  and  the  more  civilised  recognition 
of  lunacy,  three  unhappy  persons  mentally  afllicted  were 
hanged.  These  were  Arthington,  Coppenger,  and  Hacket. 
The  offence  of  the  former  was  that  he  w^as  under  a 
delusion  that  Coppenger  was  a  prophet  of  mercy,  and 
that  Hacket  was  king  of  Europe,  who  were  destined 
to  go  before  him  "  to  separate  the  sheep  from  the 
goats."  Another  lunatic,  named  Venner,  was  under 
the  delusion  that  all  human  government  was  about  to 
cease,  and  proclaimed  our  Saviour  King  in  the  public 
streets.  He  was  followed  by  a  rabble,  who  were 
attacked  by  the  militia  and  taken  prisoners.  He  was 
executed  in  1660,  protesting  his  belief  that  Cromwell 
and  Charles  II.  were  Christ's  usurpers,  whilst  twelve 
of  his  followers  under  the  same  delusion  shared  his 
fate. 

The  porter  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  named  Daniel,  met 
with  more  gentle  treatment.  He  became  deranged 
whilst  poring  over  mystical  books  of  divinity,  and  was 
for  many  years  incarcerated  in  Bethlem,  from  one  of 
the  windows  of  which  he  frequently  preached,  chiefly 
to  females,  who  would  often  sit  for  many  hours  under 
his  window  very  busy  with  their  Bibles  turning  to  the 
texts  he  quoted. 

The  extraordinary  manner  in  which  the  insane 
were  regarded  at  this  time  is  strangely  illustrated  by 
a  perusal  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society. 
Experiments  were  being  made,  in  1660,  in  the  trans- 
fusion of  blood.  An  account  had  been  sent  to  the 
Eoyal  Society  of  two  experiments  made  in  Paris, 
before  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  upon  a  youth  and  an 
adult,  whose  veins  were  opened  and  injected  with  the 
blood  of  lambs.      The  experiment  was  followed  by  so 


6  MAD  HUMANITY 

much  success  that  the  Society  became  anxious  to 
perform  it  upon  an  individual.  Sir  George  Ent 
suggested  that  it  would  be  advisable  to  do  so  upon 
some  mad  person  at  Bethlem.  This  proposal  met 
with  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Eoyal  Society.  A 
Committee  of  the  Society  was  appointed,  who  were 
instructed  to  call  upon  Dr.  Allen,  Medical  Superin- 
tendent of  Bethlem  Hospital,  to  produce  a  lunatic 
for  that  purpose.  He,  however,  declined  to  comply 
with  their  request.  The  Committee  reported  "  that 
Dr.  Allen  scrupled  to  try  the  experiment  on  any  of 
the  mad  people  at  Bethlem."  They  were  then 
ordered  to  consider  how  the  experiment  might  be 
conveniently  tried. 

In  Paris  they  were  not  so  regardful  for  the  insane, 
as  the  same  operation  was  attempted  by  M.  Denis  and 
le  Seur  Emerez  on  a  poor  lunatic,  who  died  during  the 
operation  in  their  arms. 

Even  at  this  time,  there  was  a  superstitious  dread 
and  feeling  so  far  as  the  insane  were  concerned,  and  in 
a  letter  from  Horace  Walpole  to  the  Countess  of 
Ossory  between  1769  and  1797  we  read:  "One 
project,"  says  Horace  Walpole  during  the  Gordon  riots, 
"  of  the  diabolical  incendiaries  was  to  let  loose  the 
lions  in  the  Tower  and  the  lunatics  in  Bethlem. 
The  latter,"  he  adds,  "  might  be  from  a  fellow-feeling 
with  Lord  George ;  but  cannibals  do  not  invite  wild 
beasts  to  their  banquets." 

During  the  early  days  of  either  Bethlem,  or  the 
Bicetre,  which  corresponded  to  it  in  Paris,  we  find  a 
sad  deficiency  in  the  medical  and  moral  treatment. 
This  was  because,  at  this  early  period,  the  nature  of 
the  disease  was  but  little  understood,  the  chief  and 


MADHOUSES — THEIR  PAST  HISTORY  7 

primary  object  apparently  being  to  secure  the  safe 
custody  of  the  hmatic,  regardless  of  every  other  con- 
sideration. Let  us  for  a  moment  take  as  an  example 
Hogarth's  celebrated  picture,  the  Scene  in  a  Mad- 
house, the  culminating  point  in  retribution  which 
awaited  the  "  Eake's  progress."  It  is  here  depicted 
with  consummate  skill.  We  behold  the  interior  of 
Bethlem,  not  as  it  now  exists,  but  as  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  artist  beheld  it,  when  no  attention  was 
paid  to  classification,  whilst  instruments  of  coercion 
were  the  only  means  adopted  to  restrain  violence. 

The  hero  of  the  situation  is  there  seen  chained  by 
the  leg,  lying  naked  on  the  ground,  tearing  himself  in 
a  state  of  fury  to  pieces  ;  while  he  is  supported  by  the 
unhappy  female,  who  he  has  himself  betrayed  so  cruelly, 
but  who  still  follows  him  throughout  all  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  his  evil  fortune.  Near  to  him  is  a  poor 
lunatic  gazing  through  a  roll  of  paper,  as  if  through  a 
telescope,  and  before  him  a  crazy  tailor  playing  with 
his  measure  and  looking  wildly  at  the  mad  astronomer, 
wondering,  through  excess  of  ignorance,  what  dis- 
coveries the  heavens  can  possibly  afford.  Upon  one 
side  we  observe  another  lunatic  who  imagines  that  he 
is  the  Pope,  and  is  saying  mass  in  a  pompous  style ; 
and  opposite  to  him  another  with  his  head  encircled 
with  a  straw  crown  of  royalty,  who  fancies  himself 
"  every  inch  a  king."  All  the  figures  are  painfully 
true  to  nature,  and  in  the  midst  of  this  dreary  scene 
may  be  observed  two  gaily -dressed  ladies,  brought 
thither  by  an  idle  desire  to  gratify  their  curiosity, 
whilst  they  gaze  on  the  melancholy  and  deplorable 
sicrht  around  them.  Visitors  to  Bethlem  in  the  olden 
time  used  to  be  charged  a  certain  sum  for  admission, 


8  MAD  HUMAXITY 

and  a  revenue  of  £400  per  annum  was  paid  for  the 
indiscriminate  admission  of  visitors.  In  1770  it  was 
considered  that,  though  this  sum  benefited  the  funds 
considerably,  it  counteracted  its  grand  design,  as  it 
tended  to  excite  and  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  the 
patients.  It  was  therefore  decided  to  no  longer 
exhibit  the  hospital  to  the  public,  unless  an  order  for 
admission  be  properly  obtained. 

Henry  Mackenzie  has  given  the  following  graphic, 
but  no  doubt  true  account  of  the  interior  of  Betlilem  in 
the  Man  of  Feeling.  He  says  :  "  Of  those  things  called 
'  Sights  in  London,'  which  every  stranger  is  supposed 
to  be  desirous  of  seeing,  Bethlem  is  one.  To  that 
place,  therefore,  an  acquaintance  of  Harley's,  after 
having  accompanied  him  to  several  other  shows,  pro- 
posed a  visit.  Harley  objected  to  it,  '  because,'  said 
he,  '  I  think  it  an  inhuman  practice  to  expose  the 
greatest  misery  with  which  our  nature  is  afflicted  to 
every  idle  visitant  who  can  afford  a  trifling  perquisite 
to  the  keeper,  especially  as  it  is  a  distress  whicli  the 
humane  must  see  with  the  painful  reflection  that  it  is 
not  in  their  power  to  alleviate  it.'  He  was  over- 
powered, however,  by  the  solicitations  of  his  friend 
and  other  persons  of  the  party  (amongst  whom  were 
several  ladies),  and  they  went  in  a  body  to  Moorfields. 
Their  conductor  led  them  first  to  the  dismal  mansions 
of  those  who  are  in  the  most  horrid  state  of  incurable 
madness.  The  clanking  of  chains,  the  wildness  of 
their  cries,  and  the  imprecations  which  some  of  them 
uttered,  formed  a  scene  inexpressibly  shocking. 
Harley  and  his  companions,  especially  the  female 
part  of  them,  begged  their  guide  to  return.  He 
seemed  surprised  at  their  uneasiness,  and  was  with 


MADHOUSES — THEIR  PAST  HISTORY  9 

difficulty  prevailed  upon  to  leave  that  part  of  the 
liouse  without  showing  them  some  others,  '  who,'  as 
he  expressed  it,  in  the  phrase  of  those  who  keep  wild 
beasts  for  show,  '  were  much  better  worth  seeing  than 
any  they  had  passed,  being  ten  times  more  fierce  and 
unmanageable.'  He  led  them  next  to  that  quarter 
where  there  reside  those  who,  as  they  are  not  danger- 
ous to  themselves  or  others,  enjoy  a  certain  degree  of 
freedom  according  to  the  state  of  their  distemper. 
Harley  had  fallen  behind  his  companions,  looking  at 
a  man  who  was  making  pendulums  with  bits  of 
thread  and  little  balls  of  clay.  He  had  delineated 
a  segment  of  a  circle  on  the  wall  with  chalk,  and 
marked  the  different  vibrations  by  intersecting  it  with 
crossed  lines.  A  decent-looking  man  came  up,  and, 
smiling  at  the  maniac,  turned  to  Harley  and  told  him 
that  the  patient  had  once  been  a  celebrated  mathema- 
tician. '  He  fell  a  sacrifice,'  he  said,  '  to  the  theory  of 
comets ;  for  having,  with  infinite  labour,  formed  a 
table  on  the  conjectures  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  he  was 
disappointed  in  the  return  of  one  of  those  luminaries, 
and  was  very  soon  obliged  to  be  placed  here  by  his 
friends.' " 

The  keeper  pointed  out  to  Harley  various  other 
patients  suffering  from  remarkable  delusions,  and  the 
visit  to  Eethlem  concluded  with  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  pathetic  descriptions  that  could  be 
given. 

"  Separate  from  the  rest  stood  one  whose  appear- 
ance had  something  of  superior  dignity.  Her  face, 
though  pale  and  wasted,  was  less  squalid  than  those 
of  others,  and  showed  a  dejection  of  that  decent  kind 
which   moves   our  pity  unmixed  with   horror ;    upon 


10  MAD  HUMANITY 

her,  therefore,  the  eyes  of  all  were  immediately  turned. 
The  keeper  who  accompanied  them  observed  it. 
'  This,'  said  he,  '  was  a  young  lady  who  was  born  to 
ride  in  her  coach-and-six.  She  was  beloved,  if  the 
story  I  have  heard  be  true,  by  a  young  gentleman, 
her  equal  in  birth,  but  by  no  means  her  match  in 
fortune ;  but  love,  they  say,  is  blind,  and  so  she 
fancied  him  as  much  as  he  did  her.  Her  father,  it 
seems,  would  not  hear  of  their  marriage,  and  threatened 
to  turn  them  out  of  doors  if  ever  she  saw  him  again. 
Upon  this,  the  young  gentleman  took  a  voyage  to  the 
West  Indies,  in  the  hopes  of  bettering  his  fortunes 
and  obtaining  his  wife,  but  he  was  scarce  landed, 
when  he  was  seized  with  one  of  those  fevers  which 
are  common  to  those  islands,  and  died  in  a  few  days, 
lamented  by  every  one  that  knew  him.  The  news 
reached  the  lady,  who  was  at  the  same  time  pressed 
by  her  father  to  marry  a  rich,  miserly  fellow,  who 
was  old  enough  to  be  her  grandfather.  The  death  of 
her  lover  had  no  effect  on  her  inhuman  parent,  he 
was  only  the  more  earnest  for  the  marriage  with  the 
man  he  had  provided  for  her ;  and  what  between  her 
despair  at  the  death  of  the  one,  and  her  aversion  to 
the  other,  the  poor  young  lady  was  reduced  to  the 
condition  you  see  her  in.  But  God  would  not  prosper 
such  cruelty ;  her  father's  afflxirs  soon  afterwards  went 
to  wreck,  and  he  died  almost  a  beggar.'  Though  this 
story  was  told  in  very  plain  language,  it  had  par- 
ticularly attracted  Harley's  notice ;  he  had  given  it 
the  tribute  of  some  tears. 

"  The  unfortunate  young  lady  had  till  now  seemed 
entranced  in  thought,  with  her  eyes  fixed  on  a  little 
garnet  ring  she  wore  on  her  finger ;  she  turned  them 


MADHOUSES — THEIR  PAST  HISTORY  11 

now  upon  Harley — '  My  Billy  is  no  more/  said  she. 
'  Do  you  weep  for  my  Billy  ?  Blessings  on  your  tears  ! 
I  would  weep,  too,  but  my  brain  is  dry,  and  it  burns 
— it  burns — it  burns!'  She  drew  near  to  Harley. 
'  Be  comforted,  young  lady,'  said  he,  '  your  Billy  is  in 
heaven.' — '  Alas  !  I  am  grown  haughty  of  late,  I  have 
almost  forgotten  to  think  of  heaven :  yet  I  pray  some- 
times—when I  can,  I  pray ;  and  sometimes  I  sing ; 
when  I  am  saddest,  I  sing — you  shall  hear  me — 
hush ! — 

'  Light  be  the  earth  on  Billy's  breast, 
And  green  the  sod  that  wraps  his  grave.' 

There  was  plaintive  wildness  in  the  air  not  to  be 
withstood,  and,  except  the  keeper,  there  was  not  an 
unmoistened  eye  around  her.  '  Do  you  weep  again  ? ' 
said  she ;  'I  would  not  have  you  weep.  You  are  like 
him,  believe  me ;  just  as  he  looked  when  he  gave  me 
this  ring.     Poor  Billy  ! — 

'  'Twas  the  last  time  we  ever  met. 
'Twas  when  the  seas  were  soaring.' 

I  love  you  for  resembling  my  Billy,  but  I  shall  never 
love  any  man  like  him.'  She  stretched  out  her  hand 
to  Harley ;  he  pressed  it  between  both  of  his,  and 
bathed  it  with  his  tears.  '  Nay,  that  is  Billy's  ring,' 
said  she ;  '  you  cannot  have  it,  indeed ;  but  here  is 
another — look  here,  which  I  plaited  to-day,  of  some 
gold  thread  from  this  bit  of  stuff;  will  you  keep  it 
for  my  sake  ?  I  am  a  strange  girl,  but  my  heart  is 
harmless;  my  poor  heart,  it  will  burst  some  day — 
feel  how  it  beats.' 

"  She  pressed  his  hand  to  her  bosom,  then,  holding 
her  head  in  the  attitude  of  listening, — '  Hark  !  one  ! 


12  MAD  HUMANITY 

two !  three !  Be  quiet,  thou  little  trembler !  My 
Billy  is  cold !  But  I  had  forgotten  the  ring.'  She 
then  put  it  on  his  finger.  '  Farewell !  I  must  leave 
you  now.'  She  would  have  withdrawn  her  hand — 
Harley  held  it  to  his  lips.  '  I  dare  not  stay  longer ; 
my  head  throbs  sadly — farewell ! '  She  walked  with 
a  hurried  step  to  a  little  apartment  at  some  distance. 
Harley  stood  fixed  in  astonishment  and  pity ;  his 
friend  gave  money  to  the  keeper.  Harley  looked  at 
his  ring.  He  put  a  couple  of  guineas  into  the  man's 
hand.  '  Be  kind  to  that  unfortunate.'  He  burst  into 
tears  and  left  them." 

The  condition  of  lunatic  asylums,  not  only  in 
England,  but  in  France,  Italy,  and  Germany,  until 
they  became  properly  organised  and  their  management 
better  understood,  was  very  deplorable.  In  1820 
Esquirol,  a  great  physician  of  that  day,  visited  the 
French  asylums,  and  found  them  literally  dungeons 
of  filth  and  wretchedness.  When  he  visited  the 
Salpetriere,  a  large  asylum  in  Paris,  he  was  horrified 
at  seeing  one  of  the  unfortunate  patients  lying  in  a 
state'  of  nudity  on  the  bare  ground,  with  scarcely 
sufficient  straw  to  cover  him. 

I  have  no  intention  in  this  work  of  discussing  at 
length  the  important  subject  of  Lunacy  Legislation, 
for  the  simple  reason  that,  inasmuch  as  we  are  yearly 
threatened  with  some  sort  of  amendment  in  the  law,  I 
have  no  desire  to  do  so.  I  will  capitulate  briefly  the 
chief  Acts  of  Parliament  passed  from  the  earliest  time 
when  we  find  any  legal  enactment  dealing  with  the 
question. 

The  first  provision  we  have  for  the  protection 
of  the  insane  is  in  the  Vagrant  Act,  1744,  and  con- 


MADHOUSES THEIR  PAST  HISTORY  13 

tains  a  section  which  legally  deals  with  those  persons 
"  furiously  mad,  or  so  far  mentally  afflicted  as  to  be 
dangerous  if  left  at  large."  By  this  section  two 
justices  of  the  peace  could  issue  a  warrant  for  the 
arrest  of  such  a  person,  who  was  to  be  locked  up  in 
a  secure  place,  and  if  it  was  found  necessary  he  was 
to  be  chained  and  confined  in  his  own  parish,  and  if 
in  possession  of  property  it  was  to  be  expended  on 
his  maintenance. 

In  1763  a  Committee  of  the  House  was  appointed 
to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  the  insane.  Evidence 
was  given  before  the  Committee,  and  it  was  stated  by 
two  persons,  proprietors  of  a  notorious  private  asylum, 
"  that  during  the  six  years  they  had  resided  in  the 
asylum,  they  had  never  admitted  a  single  patient  of 
unsound  mind  into  the  house ;  and  that  the  patients 
received  were  drunkards  and  sane  people,  placed  there 
by  their  friends  and  treated  like  lunatics."  The 
result  of  this  investigation  was  the  following  resolu- 
tion passed  by  the  Committee  :  "  That  it  is  the  opinion 
of  this  Committee  that  the  present  state  of  madhouses 
requires  the  interposition  of  the  Legislature."  A  dis- 
cussion arose  in  the  House,  but  nothing  was  done  until 
1773,  in  which  year  was  passed  the  first  Act  for  the 
"  Kegulation  of  Madhouses."  This  was  introduced  by 
Mr.  Townsend.  It  contained  numerous  sections  ap- 
pointing five  Fellows  of  the  Eoyal  College  of  Physi- 
cians, elected  by  the  President  and  members,  as  Com- 
missioners in  Lunacy,  for  a  limited  period  of  three 
years.  No  change  was  attempted  until  1813,  when  a 
Bill  was  thrown  out,  to  be  followed  by  another  in 
1814;  this  was  passed  by  the  Commons,  but  thrown 
out  by  the  Lords.     Another  Committee  was  appointed 


14  MAD  HUMANITY 

in  this  year  to  consider  the  subject,  and  their  report 
was  presented  to  the  House  in  1815.  Nothing  came 
of  their  deliberations,  and  it  was  not  until  1828  that 
a  new  Act  was  passed,  introduced  by  Mr.  Gordon. 
Tliis  was  seconded  by  Lord  Shaftesbury,  then  Lord 
Ashley,  who  for  many  years  was  Chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Lunacy  Commissioners,  and  gave  much  of 
his  valuable  time  to  improving  the  condition  of  the 
insane.  This  Act  was  amended  in  1833,  and  in 
1844  Lord  Shaftesbury  introduced  his  Act,  which 
continued  to  be  law  imtil  the  passing  of  the  present 
Lunacy  Law.  This  was  passed  after  the  deliberations 
of  another  Committee  of  the  House,  which  sat  in 
1877,  and  culminated  in  the  present  Act  of  1890.  I 
will  not  comment  upon  this  Act ;  as  I  have  previously 
stated,  I  believe  it  is  about  to  be  amended,  and  stale 
law  is  worse  than  useless. 

The  evidence  given  before  the  Select  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons  in  the  years  1815,  1816,  and 
1827  fm^nish  us  with  ample  details  of  the  way  in 
which  the  insane  were  then  treated.  At  the  county 
asylum  at  York  public  inquiry  elicited  that  there  were 
concealed  rooms  in  the  hospital,  unknown  even  to  the 
governors  of  the  asylum ;  and  that  patients  slept  in 
these  rooms,  which  were  saturated  witli  filth,  and 
totally  unfit  for  the  habitation  of  human  beings. 
Thirteen  female  patients  were  crowded  in  a  room 
twelve  feet  by  seven,  the  male  keepers  had  access  to 
the  female  wards,  and  much  immorality  prevailed. 
One  patient,  a  clergyman,  was  kicked  downstairs  by 
a  keeper,  while  his  wife  was  insulted  by  them  with 
indecent  language,  in  order  to  deter  her  from  visiting 
him.     Another  patient,  a  gentleman,  disappeared  and 


MADHOUSES — THEIR  PAST  HISTORY  15 

was  never  afterwards  heard  of  again.  Four  patients 
were  supposed  to  be  burned  to  death  (the  asylum  hav- 
ing been  found  to  be  on  fire,  a  few  days  after  a  general 
investigation  of  it  had  been  directed),  and  there  were 
several  patients  of  whom  no  account  could  be  given. 
At  this  time  there  was  only  one  medical  officer,  who 
was  the  "  sole  physician,  the  sole  visitor,  and  the  sole 
committee."  One  patient,  who  had  been  kept  naked 
for  a  week  in  a  dark  room,  could  only  obtain  a  shirt 
by  the  promise  of  a  bribe  of  five  shillings  to  the 
keeper.  The  patients  at  that  time  were  left  to  the 
caprice  of  ignorant  and  brutal  attendants. 

When  Bethlem  Hospital  was  examined  in  181 G, 
female,  as  well  as  male  patients,  were  chained  to  the 
walls,  covered  only  with  a  blanket  formed  into  some- 
thing like  a  gown.  One  man,  named  Norris,  whose 
case  is  well  known,  was  kept  in  chains  for  fourteen 
years  without  the  smallest  interval  of  liberty.  Stout 
iron  rings  were  riveted  round  his  arms,  body,  and 
neck,  the  latter  being  made  to  slide  upwards  and 
downwards  on  a  massive  iron  bar  inserted  in  the  wall. 
And  he  was  placed  under  the  care  of  a  keeper  who 
was  almost  always  drunk,  but  who  nevertheless  re- 
tained his  situation  for  years.  Patients  were  chained 
not  only  for  safety  sake,  but  for  punishment.  It 
would  appear,  from  the  evidence  taken,  that  little,  if 
any,  medicine  was  administered  with  the  exception  of 
a  certain  "powder."  The  inmates  numbered  122; 
the  doctor  did  not  reside  in  the  hospital,  but  visited 
for  one  hour  every  day.  The  system  of  treatment 
consisted  chiefly  of  bleeding  during  the  spring  months. 
A  certain  day  was  appointed  for  this  which  depended 
very  much  upon  the  weather.      The  patients  were  at 


16  MAD  HUMANITY 

oue  time  left  to  the  care  of  a  surgeon,  who  himself 
was  "  generally  insane  and  mostly  drunk." 

The  condition  of  St.  Luke's  Hospital  was  also  in- 
quired into  about  the  same  time.  It  was  the  custom 
here  to  keep  the  patients  in  bed  when  "  their  things  had 
been  sent  to  the  wash,"  and  pending  their  return,  when 
they  were  put  on  again.  At  the  inspection  in  1816, 
it  was  found  that  the  walls  were  in  a  filthy  condition, 
not  having  been  whitewashed  for  five  years ;  the  day- 
rooms  were  crowded,  ill-ventilated,  and  highly  offen- 
sive, there  was  not  a  proper  supply  of  attendants, 
there  was  no  classification,  and  no  employment. 

The  horrors  seem  to  have  increased  as  we  proceed 
further  on.  On  inquiry  as  to  the  condition  of  two 
other  asylums,  it  was  found  that  many  of  the  pauper 
patients  were  chained  to  the  bed  by  their  legs,  naked, 
and  only  covered  with  a  hempen  rug.  That  some  of 
these  hopeless  wretches  were  chained  to  a  straw  bed, 
with  only  a  rug  to  cover  them,  and  in  no  way  pro- 
tected from  the  external  cold.  The  evidence  taken  in 
1816  went  on  to  say  that  patients  were  subjected  to 
brutalities  from  the  attendants,  that  they  suffered 
much  from  the  cold,  one  patient  having  lost  her  toes 
from  mortification,  and  that  they  were  infested  with 
vermin.  In  1827,  before  the  Committee,  it  was 
further  stated  that  patients  were  chained  to  their 
cribs,  naked  upon  straw,  and  confined  there  without 
intermission  from  Saturday  night  until  Monday 
morning,  and  this  in  November  and  in  frosty 
weather.  It  was  admitted  here  that  there  was  no 
medicinal  treatment  for  insanity,  and  there  was  no 
attempt  at  classification,  the  noisy  cases  being  placed 
with   the    quieter   ones.      It   appeared   that   for    170 


MADHOUSES — THEIR  PAST  HISTORY  17 

patients  there  was  only  one  toiael  ijer  tveeJc  allowed, 
and  no  soap ;  that  there  was  no  medical  resident,  and 
that  another  house  containing  500  patients  was  visited 
only  twice  or  thrice  a  week  by  a  doctor.  By  referring 
to  the  evidence  given  before  the  various  Lunacy  Com- 
mittees of  the  Jlouse,  I  think  I  have  sufficiently  shown 
the  terrible  condition  of  the  insane  even  so  near  as 
1827. 

The  outcome  of  this  inquiry  was,  as  I  have  stated, 
the  Lunacy  Bill  of  Mr.  Gordon,  who,  when  intro- 
ducing it,  stated,  "  That  in  Holland,  France,  Italy,  and 
even  Spain,  there  were  establishments  for  the  recep- 
tion of  lunatics,  which  were  the  subject  of  envy  and 
admiration."  By  this  new  Act,  Commissioners  in 
Lunacy  were  appointed,  patients  were  properly  visited, 
asylums  inspected  four  times  a  year,  all  facts  concern- 
ing admission,  discharge,  or  death  of  an  inmate  had 
to  be  notified  to  the  Commissioners,  and  each  asylum, 
containing  more  than  100  patients,  was  required  to 
have  a  resident  medical  officer.  Proper  certificates 
were  required  previous  to  admission,  and  things  were 
being  placed  on  some  sort  of  proper  footing  for  the 
proper  management  of  asylums  and  the  insane. 

I  now  propose  to  consider  the  condition  of  the 
insane,  confining  my  remarks  to  fifty  years  ago.  At 
that  time  lunatics  were  dispersed  in  various  places, 
some  in  private  houses,  others  in  private  or  county 
asylums,  whilst  some  were  in  lunatic  hospitals,  or  the 
infirmaries  of  workhouses.  I  speak  of  the  year  1847, 
at  which  time  there  were  23,000  persons  registered 
as  being  of  unsound  mind  scattered  over  the  country. 
Of  this  number  5000  belonged  to  the  higher  or  middle 
classes,  and  about  18,000  to  the  pauper  class. 

c 


18  MAD  HUMANITY 

The  Lunacy  Act  of  1844  was  now  in  full  opera- 
tion, and  the  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the 
insane,  which  commenced  in  1828,  had  made  rapid 
strides  in  twenty  years.  All  the  barbarities  prac- 
tised at  the  large  pauper  asylums  had  vanished. 
These  institutions  were  under  the  inspection  of  regu- 
lar committees,  whose  duties  were  to  investigate  each 
individual  case,  hear  complaints,  and  examine  the 
condition  of  the  accommodation  provided.  A  report 
book  was  kept,  and  at  the  quarterly  meeting  of  the 
Governors  this  was  placed  before  them.  Medical 
treatment  was  now  followed  out  in  the  cure  of  the 
insane ;  classification  of  the  various  phases  of  lunacy 
was  adopted,  and  restraint  to  a  certain  extent  became 
abolished,  whilst  the  diet  was  plentiful  and  whole- 
some. 

The  frequent  visitation  of  these  institutions  was 
answerable,  to  a  large  extent,  for  the  rapid  improve- 
ment which  was  being  made ;  for  a  careful  and  rigid 
scrutiny  contributes,  more  than  anything  else,  to 
ensure  comfort  and  cleanliness  in  such  establish- 
ments, and  secures  the  good  treatment  of  the 
inmates. 

Private  asylums,  which  were  springing  up  at  the 
time,  were  also  under  rigid  discipline.  The  Commis- 
sioners were  empowered  to  withhold  the  license,  and 
this  operated  as  a  powerful  incentive,  as  it  does  now, 
over  the  proprietors,  and  makes  them  attend  to  any 
official  suggestions  which  may  be  made.  What  the 
opinion  of  the  Commissioners  was  upon  this  import- 
ant matter  of  the  regulation  of  private  asylums  would 
be  best  given  by  a  short  quotation  from  their  Eeport 
of  1847. 


MADHOUSES — THEIR  PAST  HISTORY  19 

The  Commissioners  say  :  "  It  is  indispensable  that 
powers  of  supervision  should  exist  in  every  case ;  that 
they  should  be  vested  in  persons  totally  unconnected 
with  the  establishment ;  and  that  the  visitations 
should  not  be  limited  in  point  of  number,  and 
should  be  uncertain  in  point  of  time,  for  it  is  most 
important  to  the  patients  that  every  proprietor  and 
superintendent  should  always  be  kept  in  expectation 
of  a  visit,  and  should  thus  be  compelled  to  maintain 
his  establishment  and  its  inmates  in  such  a  state  of 
cleanliness  and  comfort  as  to  exempt  him  from  the 
probability  of  censure.  We  are  satisfied  from  our 
experience  that,  if  the  power  of  visitation  were  witli- 
drawn,  all  or  most  of  the  abuses  that  the  Parlia- 
mentary investigations  of  1815,  1816,  and  1827 
brought  to  light  would  speedily  revive,  and  that  the 
condition  of  the  lunatic  would  be  again  rendered  as 
miserable  as  heretofore." 

In  consequence  of  this  careful  supervision  the 
Commissioners  were  able  to  report  at  their  visit  that 
the  patients  were  humanely,  and  sometimes  very 
judiciously,  treated,  and  that  as  the  result  of  making 
frequent  inquiries  of  the  patients  themselves,  they 
were  enabled  to  at  once  attend  to  any  complaint 
effectually  and  properly. 

With  reference  to  the  attendants  employed  they 
say :  "  As,  however,  lunatic  patients  are  placed  very 
much  at  the  mercy  of  their  attendants,  it  is  most 
desirable  to  secure,  as  far  as  possible,  persons  of 
humane  and  respectable  character  as  attendants  on 
the  insane  in  every  asylum  throughout  the  kingdom." 

A  register  was  established  at  their  office,  and  all 
names  of  male  and  female  attendants  engaged  or  dis- 


20  MAD  HUMANITY 

charged  had  to  be  sent  there  for  registration.  The 
general  improvement  which  had  taken  place  through- 
out the  kingdom  became  manifest,  and  the  Commis- 
sioners appeared  to  be  anxious  to  do  all  in  their 
power  to  ensure  a  proper  regulation  of  these  establish- 
ments, having  but  one  object  in  view,  the  welfare  of 
the  inmates. 

They  felt  the  responsibility  attached  to  their  office, 
and  their  Eeport,  issued  fifty  years  ago,  shows  that  the 
management  of  asylums,  and  the  treatment  of  the 
insane,  were  gradually,  but  surely,  improving.  The 
horrors  of  the  past  had  vanished,  and  the  curtain  had 
dropped  for  ever  on  the  revolting  details  to  which  I 
have  felt  it  my  duty  to  briefly  allude  in  describing 
"  Madhouses  and  their  past  history." 


CHAPTEK  II 

CONDITION  OF  LUNACY  AT  THE  PEESENT  DAY 

Speaking  generally,  there  are  101,972  registered 
persons  of  unsound  mind  in  England  and  Wales  at 
the  present  day.  There  has  been  an  increase  in 
lunacy  of  about  2607  as  compared  with  the  previous 
year.  In  examining  the  statistical  table  it  will  be 
seen  that  this  increase  has  been  for  the  last  forty 
years  a  progressive  one,  and  whereas  in  1859  there 
were  36,762  lunatics,  being  18-67  per  10,000  of  the 
population,  the  number  now  is  32'48  to  the  same 
number.  In  other  words,  in  1829  there  was  one 
person  in  every  536  of  the  population  who  was  re- 
garded as  insane.  At  the  present  day  there  is  one  in 
every  308,  or  nearly  double.  Taking  an  average  of 
the  yearly  admissions  during  the  last  five  years,  there 
is  a  larger  proportion  of  lunacy  among  married  per- 
sons than  among  single. 

Insanity  in  relation  to  Marriage. — The  following  short 
table  presents  the  amount  of  insanity  in  their  order  : — 


1.  Married  women 

.      3963 

2.  Married  men 

.      3927 

3.  Single  men     . 

.      3865 

4.  Single  women 

.      3713 

5.  Widows 

.      1441 

6.  Widowers 

783 

22  MAD  HUMANITY 

Of  the  various  diseases  from  which  patients  suf- 
fered on  their  admission  into  asylums,  in  their  order 
of  frequency,  were — 

1.  Mania 7704 

2.  MelanchoHa 4304 

The  remaining  number  being  made  up  of  dementia 
and  other  forms  of  mental  diseases.  Madness  is  much 
more  prevalent  in  the  female  sex  than  in  the  male, 
and  this  coincides  with  statistics  published  fifty  years 
ago. 

As  to  the  real  increase  of  insanity,  the  Lunacy 
Commissioners  apparently  deny  this.  Some  time 
back  a  question  was  asked  in  the  House  of  Commons 
with  reference  to  this  important  matter,  inasmuch  as 
the  yearly  statistics  showed  that  insanity  was  gradu- 
ally increasing.  The  investigation  of  the  Commis- 
sioners resulted  in  the  following  statement  in  their 
annual  Blue  Book :  "  That  we  have  been  unable  to 
satisfy  ourselves  that  there  has  been  any  important 
increase  of  fresh  insanity,  and  that  the  undoubted 
large  progressive  increase  in  the  numbers  of  officially 
known  persons  of  unsound  mind  has  been  chiefly  due  to 
accumulation,  the  result  of  the  co-operation  of  several 
causes  which  we  indicated,  among  which  was  a 
diminished  discharge  rate." 

As  the  result  of  my  private  experience,  and  in  my 
c Unique  at  the  hospital,  I  must  beg  to  dill'er  from  the 
opinion  herein  expressed. 

The  increase  of  lunacy  is  real  and  not  apparent. 
Of  this  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt.  This  increase 
in  lunacy  is  not,  however,  confined  to  our  own  country, 
but  it  is  the  same  in   other  parts  of  the   universe. 


CONDITION  OF  LUNACY  AT  THE  PRESENT  DAY       23 

where  the  same  factor  as  to  "  accumulation "  does 
not  occur. 

Drink  is  at  the  head  of  the  real  causes  both  of 
insanity  and  crime,  though  it  appears  but  third  in  the 
Commissioners'  list,  which  is  heredity  (1)  and  pre- 
vious attacks  (2) ;  but  these  are  not  distinct  causes, 
for,  in  considering  "  previous  attacks,"  we  have  first 
to  determine  the  reason  for  that  "  previous "  attack, 
and  therefore  this  can  be  no  actual  cause  for  the 
insanity  per  se.  During  the  year  more  than  twenty 
per  cent  of  lunacy  admissions  were  due  to  drink  in 
the  male,  and  over  eight  per  cent  in  the  female.  This 
is  far  in  excess  of  any  other  assignable  cause.  With 
regard  to  hereditary  influence,  it  is  over  20  per 
cent  of  the  admissions  in  the  male,  and  26  per 
cent  in  the  female.  In  considering  these  figures, 
I  have  taken  the  yearly  average  of  the  last  five  years, 
and  the  figures  given  are  the  percentage  on  the  admis- 
sions during  that  period. 

The  causes  of  insanity  may  be  divided  into  (A) 
moral,  (B)  physical,  each  of  which  may  act  as  an 
exciting  or  a  predisposing  cause.  I  give  them  in 
their  order  of  frequency,  and  in  which  I  have  myself 
met  them. 

(A)  Moral  Causes  of  Insanity. 

1.  Adverse  circumstances,  including  business  and 
pecuniary  difficulties. 

2.  Domestic  troubles,  including  loss  of  rela- 
tives. 

3.  Mental  anxiety,  overwork,  and  worry. 

4.  Eeligious  excitement. 

5.  Love  affairs,  fright,  and  nervous  shock. 


24  MAD  HUxMANITY 

(B)  Physical  Causes  of  Insanity. 

1.  Intemperance  in  drink. 

2.  Accident  or  injury. 

3.  Sunstroke. 

4.  Privation  and  starvation. 

These  are  the  chief  tabulated  causes.  There  is,  in 
addition,  insanity  produced  from  various  forms  of 
bodily  complaints,  and  other  excesses,  from  old  age 
and  hereditary  influences,  but  which,  however,  need 
not  be  tabulated  among  the  distinct  causes. 

More  people  have  become  insane  during  the  month 
of  May,  whilst  after  this  comes  June  and  January. 
The  daily  average  for  each  of  the  five  months  from 
March  to  July  exceeded  the  daily  average  for  the 
whole  year.  Twenty-nine  per  cent  of  maniacal  cases 
occurred  during  April,  of  all  admissions,  whilst 
melancholia  w\as  highest,  18  per  cent,  in  June.  In 
March  the  daily  average  in  cases  of  mania  was 
2  7  per  cent,  and  in  melancholia  1 5  per  cent ;  this 
being  the  lowest  of  any  month.  Our  inference  from 
this  would  be  that  insanity  more  frequently  becomes 
developed  in  the  spring  and  summer  months,  than  in 
autumn  and  winter. 

Of  course  some  of  the  increase  in  lunacy  may  be  due 
to  the  fact  that  many  poor  people,  who  were  formerly 
kept  at  home  by  their  friends,  are  now  sent  to  county 
asylums, and  consequently  are  registered  on  the  Commis- 
sioners' books,  and  swell  up  the  number  on  their  register. 

Drink,  as  I  have  previously  stated,  is  the  most 
prominent  cause.  This  vice  is  so  largely  on  the 
increase  in  our  country,  that  it  is  appalling  that  no 
proper  legislation  has  been  made  to  effectually  check 


CONDITION  OF  LUNACY  AT  THE  PRESENT  DAY 


25 


it.  The  habitual  drunkard  has  liberty  to  go  and  do 
what  he  likes.  His  children  become  insane,  or  them- 
selves inherit  the  malady  of  the  father.  The  very 
mention  of  "  drink  "  as  a  cause  of  insanity  damages 
the  lunacy  certificate  in  the  opinion  of  the  Lunacy 
Commissioners,  as  denoting  real  lunacy.  This  is 
strange,  considering  that  it  is  recognised  by  them  as 
such  a  prominent  cause  in  their  tabulated  list,  and 
really,  from  their  own  showing,  should  stand  at  the 
head  of  the  list.  So  long  as  the  "  uncontrollable 
drunkard "  is  allowed  to  go  free  and  unmolested,  so 
surely  must  lunacy  continue  to  increase.  It  is  not 
for  me  to  discuss  the  law  here,  but,  if  I  had  my  way, 
I  would  certify  as  being  of  "  unsound  mind  "  all  such 
individuals,  not  only  for  their  own  benefit,  but  also 
for  that  of  society,  and  of  the  generations  still  unborn. 
The  strain  of  life  may  have  something  to  do  with 
the  increase  of  lunacy,  though  I  question  whether 
this  is  greater  now  than  it  was  fifty  years  ago. 
There  was  the  same  strain  to  be  contended  with  then 
by  our  ancestors,  as  by  ourselves  at  the  present  time ; 
and  doubtless  they  suffered  from  the  same  effects  as 
we  do  now,  whilst  those  who  are  to  follow  us  will 
suffer  likewise. 

The  number  of  lunatics  who  have  died  during  the  year 
was  7322,  and  of  this  number  the  chief  causes  were — 


1. 

General  Paralysis  of  the  Insane 

1385 

2. 

Pulmonary  Consumption 

1064 

3. 

Epilepsy 

349 

4. 

Cerebral  Exhaustion 

267 

5. 

Organic  Brain  Disease     . 

253 

6. 

Apoplexy       ..... 

229 

7. 

Softening  of  Brain  .... 

148 

8. 

Atrophy  of  Brain   .... 

HI 

26  MAD  HUMANITY 

The  remaining  varieties  were  senile  decay,  other 
brain  diseases,  and  ordinary  bodily  complaints  to 
which  any  one  might  be  liable.  From  the  latter 
category  I  have  especially  signalled  out  pulmonary 
consumption,  inasmuch  as  there  is  a  great  connection 
between  that  disease  and  insanity,  and  many  of  those 
suffering  from  chronic  brain  affections  ultimately  die 
of  consumption.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  many  of  the 
ordinary  symptoms  found  in  consumption  are  generally 
absent  when  it  develops  in  a  person  of  unsound  mind  ; 
and  the  disease  is  latent,  and  sometimes  it  is  years 
before  developing,  but  when  it  has  once  commenced 
to  do  so,  it  is  very  rapid  in  its  progress. 

I  have  also  been  able  to  trace  that  in  many 
families  where  consumption  existed  there  has  been 
insanity  in  previous  generations,  and  where  insanity 
was  found  that  there  was  a  consumptive  history.  I 
am  therefore  not  at  all  surprised  at  the  large  number 
of  insane  people  who  die  of  this  disease. 

The  average  age  at  which  death  takes  place, 
taking  into  consideration  all  registered  lunatics  who 
have  died  during  the  year,  is  49  in  the  male,  and  50 
in  the  female. 

In  Scotland  and  Ireland,  as  in  England,  the 
management  and  the  treatment  of  the  insane  has 
improved  during  the  last  few  years.  In  Scotland 
there  are  14,906  insane  persons,  showing  an  increase 
of  lunacy  of  406  as  compared  with  the  previous  year. 
In  Ireland  there  are  19,590  persons  of  unsound 
mind,  and  which  also  shows  a  gradual  increase  of  624. 
In  America,  there  is  one  lunatic  in  every  623  of  the 
population,  being  the  smallest  ratio  that  we  find. 

Statistical  reports   are  carefully  drawn  up   every 


CONDITION  OF  LUNACY  AT  THE  PRESENT  DAY      27 

year  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  proportion  of  the 
insane  to  the  whole  population  of  different  countries. 
These  calculations  have  been  made  for  the  most  part 
in  Europe,  and  in  the  civilised  parts  of  the  world. 
From  a  careful  examination  of  the  information 
furnished  me  on  this  subject,  I  have  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  insane  are  found  in  the  greatest 
numbers  in  those  countries  inhabited  by  Europeans. 

The  result  modifies  itself  according  to  the  manners, 
laws,  and  industrial  habits  of  the  different  countries ; 
but  what  is  more  important  to  consider  is  the  fact 
that  wherever  education,  arts,  science,  and  the  religious 
doctrines  of  Europe  vanish  from  our  sight,  there 
insanity  diminishes  in  the  same  proportion,  and  at 
last  entirely  disappears.  Among  the  tendencies  which 
serve  in  fostering  this  malady,  modern  European 
civilisation  shows  itself  as  one  of  the  most  potent. 
Mental  alienation  is  scarcely  ever  met  with  among 
nomadic  people,  Asiatics,  or  Africans,  nor  among  the 
savages  of  America.  The  natives  of  the  Asiatic 
deserts  are  occupied  only  about  their  flocks,  horses, 
and  camels,  their  religious  practices,  and  their  habits 
of  marauding.  The  American  Indian  knows  nothing 
beyond  his  enemies,  the  tricks  of  warfare,  revenge  and 
retaliation,  hunting  the  buffalo.  The  Arab's  tent,  the 
Indian  wigwam,  continue  to  preserve  their  primitive 
simplicity  and  form.  The  costume  of  the  East  is 
to-day  what  it  was  a  thousand  years  ago.  The 
regimen  and  diet  are  the  same.  The  objects  of  an 
Arab's  affections  have  undergone  no  alteration ;  he 
loves  now,  as  he  has  always  done,  his  pipe,  carbine, 
horse,  wife,  and  children.  Travellers  who  have 
sojourned  for  any  length  of  t^me  among  the  American 


28  MAD  HUMANITY 

Indians,  the  savants  who  have  dwelt  among  the  Arabs 
of  Asia,  assure  us  that  insanity  is  a  very  rare  disease 
with  the  Orientals ;  whilst  it  is  almost  entirely  un- 
known among  those  generations  that  live  in  their 
primitive  simplicity.  Authorities  who  have  written 
upon  this  subject,  and  whose  words  are  entitled  to 
respect  and  belief,  confirm  this  opinion  as  to  the 
rarity  of  insanity  in  the  East.  In  Nubia  not  a 
single  instance  could  be  detected,  Two  idiots  were 
found  in  Abyssinia.  In  Cairo,  where  they  have  an 
asylum,  out  of  a  population  of  300,000,  not  more 
than  75  lunatics  were  confined  in  that  city,  and  out 
of  that  number  some  of  the  inmates  belonged  to  the 
neighbouring  countries.  The  various  accounts  that 
we  possess  from  Constantinople  show  us  that  the  same 
condition  exists  there,  although  in  that  city,  as  well 
as  in  Cairo,  the  influence  of  European  civilisation 
cannot  be  entirely  shut  out  from  our  view. 

Insanity  is  rarely  found  in  Alexandria,  or  Jerusalem. 
Some  years  ago  a  young  divine,  whilst  travelling  in 
these  cities,  took  special  pains  to  investigate  this 
matter.  The  result  of  his  efforts  proved  that,  at  the 
former  of  these  cities,  he  discovered  but  two  insane 
persons,  one  of  each  sex ;  and  at  the  other  city  the 
same  number.  At  the  time  of  which  I  write  there 
dwelt  in  Alexandria  a  population  of  50,000  inhabit- 
ants, and  in  Jerusalem  20,000.  It  is  a  matter, 
however,  worthy  of  record  that  one  of  these  insane 
persons  was  a  physician  of  the  Jewish  persuasion, 
born  in  Europe,  but  residing  in  Alexandria.  The 
insane  women  were  allowed  to  ramble  about  the 
streets,  and  were  made  the  sport  of  idle  children.  In 
China,  also,  mental  disoi^ler  is  but  rarely  seen.     An 


CONDITION  OF  LUNACY  AT  THE  PRESENT  DAY       29 

eminent  English  physician,  who  resided  there  for 
twelve  years,  accounted  for  this  by  the  absence  of 
that  feverish  state  of  mind  which  is  so  peculiar  to 
the  European  and  the  North  American  nations,  and 
also  to  the  sparing  use  of  alcoholic  stimulants  among 
the  Chinese.  Let  us  now  compare  the  primitive 
and  uniform  manners  of  the  Arabs  and  the  Indians 
with  our  own  life  of  constant  agitation,  locomotion, 
and  restlessness,  and  we  find  the  solution  of  the 
problem.  Our  minds  are  overcharged  with  projects, 
novelties,  and  reforms.  The  European  is  continually 
seeking  for  means  of  fresh  emotions  and  fresh  excite- 
ment. We  experience  nothing  but  anguish,  disappoint- 
ment, and  deceptions.  In  our  populous  towns  especially 
there  are  a  thousand  different  modes  of  occupation 
and  livelihood,  while  among  the  Asiatics  one  invariable 
type  of  life  and  thought  predominates. 

The  representation  of  our  civilisation  lives  in  the 
opinion  of  those  who  embrace  it.  The  exaltation  of 
its  moral  being  absorbs  the  whole  mind — the  desire 
of  appearing  great  in  the  eyes  of  others.  It  perceives 
the  necessity  of  quitting  its  natural  position  in  life 
and  of  aspiring  to  one  above  itself.  It  never  once 
considers  its  mission  as  having  come  to  an  end ;  it 
still  goes  forward,  everywhere  meeting  fresh  positions, 
which  it  covets  and  must  obtain.  The  seething  masses 
are  filled  with  ideas  of  emancipation,  the  letting  loose 
of  the  passions ;  the  hopes  of  this  man  are  blighted 
by  contempt ;  that  family  is  struck  on  the  most  tender 
point  of  its  self-esteem;  these  are  smitten  in  their 
best  affections.  Popular  commotions  break  out ;  kings 
are  hurled  from  their  thrones ;  revolution  and  blood- 
shed exist ;  thousands  of  human  lives  are  sacrificed. 


30  MAD  HUMANITY 

The  result  is  that  the  greater  the  agitation  of  the 
multitude,  the  greater  the  disturbance  of  their  moral 
being ;  the  more  their  natural  sentiments  and  passions 
are  excited,  the  more  liable  are  they  to  transgress  the 
bonds  of  reason.  The  people  of  the  European,  as  well 
as  of  North  American  civilisation,  may  be  said  to  be 
in  a  state  of  perpetual  drunkenness  of  one  sort  or  the 
other.  The  drunkenness  of  emotions,  of  personal 
dignity,  of  the  love  of  novelty.  It  is  not  so  with  the 
nations  which  approach  nearer  to  the  state  of  nature, 
of  those  who  live  apart  from  the  great  world.  We 
have  no  statistics  of  those  epochs  when  a  social  calm 
prevailed.  We  do  not  know  the  ratio  of  insanity  in 
those  times ;  but  I  feel  certain  that  the  returns  would 
show  much  less  insanity  than  now  exists.  Again,  the 
number  of  the  insane  is  largest  in  those  countries 
where  most  liberty  is  allowed,  greater  than  in  those 
in  which  the  liberty  is  restrained.  The  Turkish  and 
Eussian  Governments,  as  well  as  the  Italian,  form  a 
striking  contrast  to  the  Government  of  our  own 
country  in  this. 

It  is  not  always,  however,  in  the  violent  passions 
that  we  must  look  for  the  germs  of  insanity.  Savages 
have  passions  much  more  fierce  than  those  of  civilised 
races,  and  yet  they  are  much  less  disposed  to  mental 
disturbance.  Their  very  career  is  terrific,  their 
cruelties  are  atrocious,  but  their  tenderness  is  much 
smaller,  and  their  natural  feelings  are  not  affected. 
The  character  of  the  savage  may  be  thus  described : 
small  affections,  uniformity  of  mind  and  customs, 
unchangeable  social  ties,  narrow  necessities,  habitual 
privations,  a  life  of  animal  instinct,  and  a  savage  mode 
of  existence  that  renders  them  apt  in  supporting  pain. 


CONDITION  OF  LUNACY  AT  THE  PRESENT  DAY       31 

struggling  with  grief,  facing  peiils,  suffering  torture, 
despising  death,  and  maintaining  their  equanimity. 
Among  such  a  class  of  men  resignation  is  profound, 
and  they  are  seldom  reckless.  They  dissemble  their 
grief,  and  conceal  their  revenge,  nursing  it  in  their 
breasts  for  many  a  long  year.  And  these  people 
regard  the  moral  display,  the  oratory,  the  gaiety,  so 
characteristic  of  European  civilisation,  as  evidences  of 
folly  or  madness.  We,  on  the  contrary,  cultivate  the 
very  delicacy  of  feeling  so  much  despised  by  the 
barbarians.  Our  civilisation  sends  up  the  thermometer 
of  the  tender  passions.  We  enlarge  the  sphere  of  our 
moral  life,  and  of  all  those  affections  that  spring  from 
the  heart.  It  is  beyond  dispute  that  affection,  feeling, 
instinct,  and  friendship  among  Europeans  have  a  differ- 
ent meaning  from  that  existing  among  uncivilised 
nations  of  the  world.  The  man  produced  by  European 
civilisation  undergoes  anxieties  unknown  to  the 
children  of  nature.  It  is  evident  that  the  sentiments 
inspired  by  the  love  for  our  neighbours  have  exhibited 
themselves  among  the  white  races  in  a  manner  that 
we  look  for  in  vain  among  the  barbarians.  But  here, 
also,  is  another  source  of  error ;  for  insanity  in  this 
respect  is  the  disease  of  humanity,  it  belongs  par- 
ticularly to  the  free  population.  We  may  hence 
conclude  that  what  we  call  European  manners,  social 
condition  and  progress,  offer  conditions  which  can  be 
accepted  only  at  the  risk  of  om*  health  and  morals. 
We  must  take  into  consideration  the  system  recognised 
in  Europe  for  the  last  century  and  a  half.  The  social 
perplexities  have  always  furnished  their  contingent  of 
insanity,  but  the  number  of  the  insane  increases  in 
exact  proportion  to  the   increase  of  the  stimulation. 


32  MAD  HUMANITY 

and  as  moral  excitements  are  so  much  the  more 
numerous  and  intense,  so  is  the  mind  liable  to  become 
unhinged.  Hence  we  see  that  at  the  present  day 
there  is  more  insanity  than  in  the  Middle  Ages,  that 
there  is  less  in  Eussia  than  in  England  and  France, 
and  that  there  is  very  little  indeed  among  the  Turks, 
Arabs,  and  in  the  uncivilised  parts  of  the  world.  I 
have  thought  proper  to  dwell  upon  this  matter  at  some 
length,  to  show  that  in  those  parts  of  the  world  where 
the  mind  has  but  little  to  occupy  itself,  there  is  less 
likelihood  of  mental  derangement.  But  in  Europe, 
and  especially  England,  where  the  competition  in  the 
various  professions  is  so  excessive,  where  the  stride  of 
education  has  made  such  rapid  progress,  rendering  an 
enormous  amount  of  mental  effort  necessary,  the  mind 
is  liable  to  become  unhinged,  especially  where  pre- 
disposition exists.  Overwork,  as  a  result  of  this 
competition,  is  a  frequent  cause  of  insanity,  and  with 
the  progress  of  civilisation  and  education  it  must 
continue  to  single  out  its  victims  from  the  world. 


CHAPTEE    III 

MADNESS:    ITS    SYMPTOMS,    VARIETIES,    AND    CHAR- 
ACTERISTICS 

There  are  a  number  of  varieties  of  madness,  and  these 
may  be  subdivided.  Speaking  generally,  the  term 
refers  to  an  abnormal  mental  condition,  but  though 
many  attempts  have  been  made  at  defining  it,  it  is 
impossible  to  find  one  definition  which  can  embrace  in 
its  entirety  every  variety  of  the  disease.  I  would, 
however,  describe  it  as  being  a  deviation  from  a  man's 
normal  mental  condition,  associated  with  a  belief  in 
something  that  has  no  existence  apart  from  the 
morbid  imagination  of  the  individual.  The  term 
"  lunacy "  is  derived  from  hcna,  "  the  moon,"  and 
virtually  it  means  the  same  thing  as  madness,  only 
it  is  used  in  a  legal  sense.  Unsoundness  of  mind 
refers  to  the  inability  of  a  person  to  manage  himself 
and  his  property,  in  consequence  of  being  of  unsound 
mind.  It  has  been  ruled  in  courts  of  law  that  it  is 
a  libel  to  say  a  person  is  mad  or  insane,  but  not  so  to 
say  that  he  is  a  "  person  of  unsound  mind,"  as  no  one 
is  deemed  to  be  of  sound  mind  except  the  Deity.  In 
making  a  medical  affi.davit  for  a  commission  in  lunacy, 
it  is  not  sufficient  to  say  that  the  person   you  have 

D 


34  MAD  HUMANITY 

examined  is  mad  or  insane ;  you  must  say  that  he  is 
"  a  person  of  unsound  mind,"  for  by  this  you  imply 
that  he  is  unable  to  manage  both  himself  and  his 
affairs,  for  which  reason  a  commission  is  so  held. 

Insanity  has  two  great  divisions  :  1st,  Acute  ;  2nd, 
Chronic.  Acute  Insanity  may  be  divided  into  a 
number  of  varieties,  the  principal  being :  1st,  Acute 
Mania  ;   2nd,  Monomania  ;    3rd,  Melancholia. 

Chronic  Insanity  may  be  divided  into  :  1st,  General 
Paralysis  of  the  Insane ;  2nd,  Chronic  Mania  ;  3rd, 
Dementia;  4th,  Idiocy  ;  5th,  Imbecility ;  6th,  Soften- 
ing of  the  Brain. 

There  is  another  variety  of  insanity  called  Moral 
Insanity,  which  may  be  either  acute  or  chronic,  and 
can  again  be  subdivided. 

Acute  Mania. — This  form  of  madness  is  the  most 
prominent  we  meet  with,  and  by  far  the  easiest  of 
recognition.  It  may  be  defined  as  an  acute  disorder  of 
the  brain,  active  in  its  nature,  frequently  sudden  in 
its  development,  and  affecting  the  general  condition 
and  action  of  the  mind.  It  is  nearly  always  associated 
with  disturbance  of  the  general  health,  and  often  with 
marked  symptoms  of  bodily  disease.  Its  precursory 
stage  varies  in  different  individuals.  Sometimes  it 
commences  without  any  premonitory  indications ;  in 
other  instances  we  find  that  the  patient's  health  has 
failed  for  some  time.  It  is  often  accompanied  by 
tinmistakable  symptoms  of  acute  cerebral  disease, 
such  as  inflammation  of  the  brain  or  its  membranes. 
The  disorder  is  characterised  by  intense  excitement 
and  violence,  and  often  with  attempts  at  self-injury 
or  of  others.  Insomnia  is  a  prominent  symptom 
observed  at  the  commencement  of  the  disorder,  and  as 


Chronic  Insanity. 


MADNESS:   SYMPTOMS,  A^ARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  35 

a  rule  there  is  extreme  garrulity.  These  are  two  of 
the  earliest  indications.  The  mind  is  completely 
unhinged,  all  its  faculties  are  perverted,  and  great 
physical  restlessness  exists.  The  conversation  of  the 
patient  becomes  wild,  noisy,  and  incoherent,  and  often 
very  obscene  in  its  character.  The  habits  are  usually 
completely  changed  from  the  normal  ones.  Illusions, 
hallucinations,  and  delusions  exist  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree.  These  are  not,  however,  fixed,  for  the  mind 
wanders  from  subject  to  subject,  without  any  rhyme 
or  reason.  The  thoughts  and  ideas  flow  very  rapidly 
through  the  brain,  but  without  any  connection  with 
each  other.  Headache  may,  or  may  not,  exist,  although 
it  is  found  in  many  cases,  and  there  is  intolerance 
of  light  and  susceptibility  to  sound.  The  intense 
maniacal  attacks  frequently  come  on  in  paroxysms, 
varying  in  their  rapidity  and  intensity,  and  these 
are  nearly  always  found  in  cases  of  acute  mania. 
"Auricular  Delirium,"  or  hallucination  of  hearing 
voices  or  sounds,  is  often  associated  with  the  disease. 
The  delusion  of  being  demoniacally  possessed  is 
frequently  a  prominent  symptom.  A  fear  and  dread 
of  those  around  is  often  seen.  The  general  appearance 
of  an  acutely  maniacal  patient  is  very  characteristic. 
The  eyes  roll  about,  the  conjunctivae  are  injected,  the 
features  pinched,  and  there  is  a  vacant  look,  sometimes 
amounting  to  a  stare.  The  eyebrows  are  sometimes 
raised,  giving  the  patient  an  appearance,  not  only  of 
vacuity  and  intellectual  derangement,  but  also  of 
great  cerebral  excitement  and  mental  strain.  The 
general  expression  is  occasionally  so  altered  that 
recognition  is  sometimes  impossible  by  the  immediate 
relatives   and   friends   of  the   patient.      Painful   and 


36  MAD  HUMANITY 

frightful  dreams  occur,  and  the  acute  frenzy  increases 
towards  night.  Those  so  afflicted  are  often  insensible 
to  pain.  Intense  heat  or  cold  has  little  if  any  effect 
upon  them.  They  can  handle  hot  cinders  without 
apparent  suffering,  or  they  will  expose  themselves  to 
the  greatest  amount  of  cold  without  being  susceptible 
to  it. 

A  case  of  acute  mania  may  end  in — 

1.  Complete  recovery ;  the  symptoms  gradually 
abating  without  any  relapse  taking  place :  this  is  a 
very  common  termination,  especially  in  those  cases 
which  occur  in  young  persons,  and  where  no  hereditary 
taint  or  predisposition  to  mental  disorder  exists. 

2.  In  extension  of  the  cerebral  mischief,  causing 
acute  inflammation  of  the  brain ;  this  appears  whilst 
the  attack  of  mania  is  still  in  its  infancy,  and  is  a 
frequent  termination  of  the  disorder,  generally  ending 
after  a  short  period  in  death. 

3.  In  an  a]3parent  remission  in  the  symptoms, 
followed  by  an  exacerbation  of  all  the  acute  phases  of 
the  disease,  and  this  condition  may  continue  for  some 
months  until  the  patient's  ultimate  and  complete 
recovery. 

4.  Some  cases  terminate  in  chronic  mania,  but 
generally  here  some  predisposing  cause  can  be  traced. 
Acute  mania  is  characterised  by  distinct  remissions 
and  exacerbations  in  the  symptoms.  During  the 
iUness  the  patient  at  times  appears  as  if  he  had  re- 
covered miraculously,  but  before  the  day  is  over  he 
will  have  relapsed  into  his  maniacal  state.  These 
relapses  are  frequent  during  an  attack.  The  duration 
of  acute  [mania  on  an  average  is  about  six  weeks, 
though  it  is  some  time  after  this  before  a  patient  can 


MADNESS  :  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  37 

resume  his  former  work,  aud  before  he  can  be  safely 
pronounced  as  convalescent. 

Diagnosis  of  Acute  Mania. — Acute  mania  may  be 
mistaken  for — 

1.  The  delirium  of  bodily  ailment,  such  as  fever 
in  its  acute  stag-e. 

2.  Inflammatory  affections  of  the  brain  or  mem- 
branes. 

3.  The  excitement  and  violence  produced  by 
alcohol. 

4.  General  paralysis  of  the  insane. 

5.  Delirium  tremens. 

It  may  be  distinguished  from  the  delirium  of 
bodily  ailment  by  the  history  of  the  primary  disease 
and  the  general  symptoms  concomitant  with  the 
affection.  We  may  have  here  unmistakable  maniacal 
ravings,  but  the  history  of  the  case  will  be  con- 
vincing. 

It  is  diagnosed  from  inflammatory  affections  of  the 
brain  or  membranes  by  the  bounding  and  quick  pulse 
and  intense  headache,  by  the  intolerance  of  light  and 
sound  found  in  inflammatory  cerebral  affections,  by 
the  history  of  the  case,  and  the  critical  condition  of 
the  patient.  The  symptoms  here  are  those  of  pyrexia 
accompanied  by  wild  delirium,  hallucinations,  and 
illusions. 

The  violence  and  excitement  produced  by  intoxica- 
tion can  be  distinguished  by  the  history  of  the  case, 
the  absence  of  delusions,  the  shortness  of  the  seizure, 
the  ravings  being  followed  by  sleep,  and  the  patient 
waking  up  quite  well,  and  also  by  indications  of  the 
smell  of  alcohol  in  the  breath,  and  by  the  crucial  test 
of  administering  some  emetic  which  will  be  convinc- 


38  MAD  HUMANITY 

ing  in  its  results.  The  diagnosis  between  it  and 
general  paralysis  of  the  insane  is  considered  in  de- 
scribing the  latter  complaint. 

It  may  be  diagnosed  from  delirium  tremens  by 
the  absence  of  the  characteristic  tremor,  and  by  the 
existence  of  the  peculiar  delusions,  viz.  that  animals  or 
reptiles  are  surrounding  the  bed.  In  delirium  tremens 
the  tongue  is  tremulous  and  covered  by  a  creamy  white 
fur,  and  the  head  is  cool  and  sweating. 

Mania  in  which  epilepsy  exists,  or  epilepsy  in 
which  mania  supervenes,  is  always  characterised  and 
accompanied  by  great  violence  and  maniacal  excite- 
ment. 

Demonomania  seldom  occurs  in  early  life,  and  it  is 
rarely  cured,  though  recovery  does  sometimes  take 
place,  as  in  the  following  instance :  A  woman,  aged 
twenty-one,  had  a  fright,  and  collapsed  into  a  state  of 
religious  despondency,  succeeded  by  demonomania. 
She  conceived  the  idea  that  "  five  or  six  devils  had 
entered  into  her,  and  caused  her  to  renounce  the  Lord, 
stating  that  she  was  possessed  by  Satan,  and  was  the 
devil." 

She  would  stand  for  hours  together  looking  at  her 
nails,  occasionally  objected  to  take  her  food,  and  had 
an  inclination  to  destroy  herself.  She  was  placed 
under  treatment,  and  at  the  end  of  ten  months  she 
was  completely  restored  to  reason. 

Demonomaniacs  are  generally  emaciated,  and  have 
an  expression  of  great  mental  distress,  love  of  solitude, 
they  sleep  but  little,  and  are  sometimes  musically  in- 
clined. They  are  often  very  insensible  to  bodily 
suffering.  Demonomania  often  assumes  the  type  of 
acute  melancholia. 


MADNESS :   SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS    39 

A  lady,  aged  thirty-one,  came  under  my  observa- 
tion. She  had  always  been  strange  in  manner,  and 
informed  me  that  she  was  a  witch.  She  suffered 
from  sleeplessness,  and  was  in  a  state  of  acute  nervous 
excitement,  fancying  she  was  possessed  of  a  devil,  and 
imagined  she  was  very  wicked.  Her  condition  w^as 
one  of  acute  maniacal  excitement.  She  was  under  the 
impression  that  she  was  doomed  to  go  to  hell,  and 
that  the  gates  of  heaven  were  closed  to  her.  She 
raved  continuously,  and  was  very  wild  in  manner. 
This  raving  continued  during  the  night,  being  under 
the  impression  that  she  was  going  to  be  killed,  and 
she  kept  jumping  in  and  out  of  the  bed,  groaning  and 
talking  incessantly.  It  w^as  found  necessary  to  place 
her  under  proper  care  and  supervision.  Most  cases  of 
demonomania  take  the  form  of  acute  mania. 

Monomania  is  a  variety  of  insanity  in  which  the 
delusion  of  the  individual  is  confined  to  one  subject, 
the  patient  being  apparently  sane  on  all  other  points. 
It  is  a  vexed  question,  however,  whether  it  is  possible 
for  the  mind  to  be  deranged  on  one  subject  only. 
Cases  of  pure  monomania  are  certainly  of  rare  oc- 
currence ;  for,  even  in  patients  w^ho  appear  to  be 
monomaniacs,  the  mind,  if  carefully  analysed,  will  be 
found  to  be  under  the  influence  of  several  delusions. 
The  principal  morbid  ideas  met  with  in  the  "  mono- 
maniac "  are  as  follows  : — 

1.  That  a  conspiracy  exists  against  hun. 

2.  That  the  food  is  poisoned. 

3.  That  he  has  been  guilty  of  some  great  crime, 
and  under  this  delusion  he  will  often  wish  to  deliver 
himself  up  to  the  police  or  public  magistrate. 

4.  That  he  is  addressed  by  strange  or  imaginary 


40  MAD  HUMANITY 

voices  (auricular  delirium) :  a  most  unfavourable  form 
of  monomania. 

5.  That  he  has  committed  the  unpardonable  sin, 
is  forsaken  of  God,  and  out  of  the  pale  of  salvation : 
generally  associated  with  suicidal  tendencies. 

6.  That  he  is  Jesus  Christ. 

7.  That  he  is  a  king  or  some  great  person :  under 
this  delusion  he  will  comport  himself  accordingly :  a 
bad  variety  of  the  complaint. 

8.  That  he  has  at  his  command  great  wealth  :  un- 
favourable. 

9.  That  he  is  ruined  and  on  the  eve  of  bankruptcy. 
The  monomaniac  is  unable  to  talk  rationally  upon 

the  subject  connected  with  his  particular  delusion,  but 
in  all  other  respects  he  generally  appears  perfectly 
sane.  Beyond  this  no  unsoundness  of  mind  may  be 
perceived.  Dr.  Pritchard,  a  very  old  authority,  says 
that  "  the  mind  in  monomania  is  unsound,  not  unsound 
in  one  point  only  and  sound  in  other  respects,  but 
this  unsoundness  manifests  itself  principally  witli 
reference  to  some  particular  object  or  person." 

A  lady,  age  twenty-eight,  was  under  the  delusion 
that  everything  in  the  street  contained  infection. 
Her  mind  always  dwelt  upon  this :  she  said,  as  she 
walked  along,  that  the  houses  frightened  her  because 
of  their  liability  to  infection.  AYhilst  in  the  street 
she  imagined  that  the  people  she  passed  had  scarlet 
fever  or  some  other  infectious  complaint,  and  would 
contaminate  her.  She  was  unable  to  concentrate  her 
mind  upon  any  subject  apart  from  her  delusions. 
She  would  not  read  or  touch  books,  being  under  the 
impression  that  they  would  infect  her,  and  declined 
to  take  the  letters  delivered  at  tlie  house  by  the  post- 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS   41 

man  for  the  same  reason,  returning  them  to  him  at 
the  door. 

This  is  a  variety  of  monomania  frequently  met 
with. 

One  of  the  most  common  and  dangerous  forms  of 
monomania  is  that  of  persecution. 

Frequently  those  suffering  from  the  monomania  of 
persecution  are  sane  upon  every  other  subject  except 
this  one,  and  consequently  go  about  the  world  as  sane 
rational  beings.  While  suffering  from  this  delusion, 
threatening  letters  are  written,  and  actual  crime  often 
committed. 

Monomania  suggests  many  very  important  con- 
siderations. Authorities  deny  the  existence  of  that 
species  of  monomania  which  is  restricted  to  a  single 
idea ;  but  it  must  not  be  assumed  that  the  mind  in 
such  cases  has  not  any  other  idea  presented  to  it ;  but 
the  reasoning  faculties  occupy  themselves  with  one 
predominant  idea,  to  which  all  other  ideas  are  only 
accessory.  I  have  known  of  a  person  who,  for  up- 
wards of  twenty  years,  entertained  the  idea  of  killing 
one  ^;e?'S07i !  A  magistrate  of  high  probity  and 
honour  imagined  he  was  lost  in  consequence  of  a 
delusion  that  he  had  committed  a  criminal  act,  and 
so  strongly  was  his  mind  convinced  of  this  single  idea, 
that  in  his  more  cheerful  moments  he  would  ridicule 
himself  for  the  very  act  he  believed  that  he  had  com- 
mitted. In  that  species  of  monomania  in  which 
several  ideas  occupy  the  mind,  the  patient  is  cheerful, 
the  eyes  are  bright,  the  countenance  expressive  of 
gaiety,  and  the  conversation  is  thoughtless  and  unre- 
strained. In  the  opposite  form  of  monomania,  the 
patient  is  melancholy ;  he  is  restless  and  suspicious. 


42  MAD  HUMANITY 

taciturn,  and  often  suicidal ;  it  is  a  species  of  insanity 
in  which  the  reasoning  faculties  appear  to  be  unim- 
paired, while  the  conduct  of  the  individual  is,  in  the 
highest  degree,  irrational.  In  France  this  is  known 
as  manie  raisonante,  or  reasoning  madness.  The 
persons  so  affected  will  often  talk  in  the  most  plausible 
manner,  and  explain  their  erratic  conduct  with  so 
much  ingenuity  and  address  as  to  impose  upon  those 
who  listen  to  them.  In  conversinc^  with  them  it  is 
impossible  to  detect  any  aberration  of  the  intellectual 
faculties.  They  reason  correctly,  and  often  with  more 
vivacity  and  ability  than  usual,  particularly  if  they 
imagine  that  they  are  suspected  and  under  any  kind 
of  surveillance ;  but  the  moment  they  are  left  to 
themselves  and  believe  they  are  not  observed,  they 
are  guilty  of  great  irregularity  of  conduct.  They 
cannot  rest  in  any  one  place ;  they  annoy  their  com- 
panions, and  excite  one  against  the  other  by  all  kinds 
of  falsehood  and  calumnies ;  they  touch  and  displace 
everything,  and,  should  they  be  remonstrated  with, 
they  at  once  deny  what  they  have  done,  or  excuse 
and  justify  themselves  with  great  tact;  they  never 
confess  the  truth,  and  have  always  a  thousand  good 
explanations  to  give  for  their  conduct.  Such  patients 
are  extremely  troublesome,  and  difficult  to  deal  with. 
They  frequently  overwhelm  the  person  in  charge  of 
them  with  compliments,  and  affect  a  tone  of  morality, 
sentiment,  and  religion;  but  the  moment  an  oppor- 
tunity occurs  they  commit  every  kind  of  mischief 
which  may,  from  the  perversity  of  their  disposition, 
suggest  itself,  and  hence  they  become  intolerable  at 
home  or  in  other  private  families,  and  are  apt  even 
to   destroy    the   discipline   and   subordination  of   the 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  43 

asylums  into  which  they  may  be  admitted.  The 
symptoms  of  this  form  of  disease  are — a  sudden  change 
in  the  usual  habits  of  living,  caprice,  versatility, 
estrangement  and  perversion  of  the  moral  affections, 
restlessness,  and  agitation.  The  intellectual  faculties 
gradually  become  impaired,  and  a  state  of  dementia 
ensues.  The  recognition  of  the  disease  itself  re- 
quires experience,  and  the  prognosis  is  generally  un- 
favourable ;  so  true  it  is,  that  the  more  intact  the 
intellectual  faculties  remain,  the  greater  always  is 
the  difiiculty  of  cure. 

Among  the  other  forms  of  monomania,  cases  of  homi- 
cidal and  suicidal  monomania  are  of  frequent  occur- 
rence, but  are  often  the  result  of  what  has  appropriately 
been  termed  impulsive  insanity.  Hallucinants  are 
especially  liable  to  commit  either  one  or  other  of 
these  acts,  for  they  often  hear  voices  commanding 
them  sometimes  to  kill  others,  sometimes  to  kill  them- 
selves ;  and  in  many  of  these  cases  there  exists 
previously  no  evidence  whatever  of  mental  derange- 
ment. ISTot  infrequently  some  peculiar  fanatical  notion 
suggests  the  fatal  act :  religious  monomaniacs,  there- 
fore, are  never  safe.  Pinel  relates  the  case  of  a  fanatic 
who  conceived  the  idea  that  mankind  should  be  re- 
generated by  the  baptism  of  blood ;  and  under  this 
delusion  he  cut  the  throats  of  all  his  children,  and 
would  have  murdered  his  wife  had  she  not  effected 
her  escape.  Sixteen  years  afterw^ards,  when  a  patient 
in  the  Bicetre,  he  murdered  two  of  his  fellow-patients, 
and  would  have  killed  all  the  inmates  in  the  hospital  if 
his  homicidal  propensity  had  not  been  restrained. 
Instead  of  being  impulsive,  the  homicidal  act  is  some- 
times premeditated  :  a  fixed  idea  of  vengeance  occupies 


44  MAD  HUMANITY 

the  mind  until  the  favourable  moment  for  consum- 
mating the  act  arrives.  An  insane  patient  having 
asked  a  female  attendant  in  a  private  asylum  for  some 
money,  was]refused  ;  he  conceived  immediately  a  feeling 
of  resentment  against  the  poor  young  woman,  and 
having  possessed  himself  of  a  piece  of  iron,  sharpened 
the  point  of  it,  and  for  a  fortnight  carried  the  weapon 
concealed  about  his  person,  when  suddenly  a  scream 
was  heard,  and  it  was  found  that  he  had  stabbed  her 
in  the  thigh,  the  sharp  instrument  having  penetrated 
through  her  clothes,  and  divided  the  femoral  artery. 

The  monomania  of  fear,  or  folie  de  cloute  of  the 
French  authorities,  is  a  common  form  of  mental  dis- 
order. It  is  a  special  variety,  where  apprehension  and 
fear  form  a  leading  characteristic  of  the  complaint. 
Those  who  labour  under  it  are  afraid  of  one  or  more 
objects,  or  they  have  a  dread  of  everything,  in  which 
case  the  term  Paranaplwhia  is  employed  to  denote  the 
disorder.  In  some  cases  there  is  a  vague  and  undefined 
terror ;  frequently  delusions  or  erroneous  ideas  of 
objects  and  sounds  occur.  These  delusions  probably 
have  a  relation  to  ideas  with  which  they  had  previ- 
ously been  familiar ;  for  instance,  the  occurrence  of 
fires  has  given  rise  to  insanity,  with  excessive  dread 
of  being  burnt.  A  lady  of  fortune  used  to  spend  the 
night  in  being  di'iven  in  her  carriage  through  the 
streets  of  London,  afraid  lest  her  house  should  take 
fire.  The  fear  of  damnation  has  often  been  the 
leading  feature  of  insanity  in  persons  of  a  religious 
turn  of  mind.  Fear  of  poverty  occurs  in  some  who 
have,  by  industry,  accumulated  a  large  fortune. 
Among  the  objects  of  fear  in  the  insane  are  poison, 
robbery,  prison,  and  the   police.       Those   who   suffer 


MADNESS:   SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS   45 

from  this  form  of  monomania  are  inclined  to  interpret 
everything  to  their  own  disadvantage,  to  exaggerate 
their  feelings,  and  sometimes  to  ascribe  imaginary 
crimes  to  themselves.  In  consequence  of  the  irrita- 
tion under  which  they  continually  labour,  they  are 
generally  emaciated  and  feeble.  From  the  fear  of  doing 
wrong,  they  are  undecided  and  restless,  and  cannot 
make  up  their  minds  to  perform  the  most  common 
duties  of  life :  repeated  attempts  are  made  before  they 
accomplish  even  those  of  eating  and  drinking,  going 
to  bed  and  getting  up.  Occasionally  attempts  are 
made  to  commit  suicide :  these  generally  fail  in  con- 
sequence of  their  fear  and  indecision.  Of  the  causes 
which  produce  this  variety  is  the  creation  of  fear 
which  sometimes  gives  rise  to  the  disorder ;  it,  how- 
ever, occurs  in  insanity  originating  from  other  sources, 
and  women  and  young  persons  are  the  most  liable  to 
the  complaint. 

Melancholia 

Symptoms  and  Diagnosis. — Melancholia  is  another 
variety  of  insanity  constantly  met  with.  It  may 
be  the  precursor  of  acute  mania,  or  it  may  come 
on  and  exist  by  itself.  The  chief  characteristic  of 
the  complaint  is  great  mental  depression,  and  often 
for  no  tangible  reason.  The  disease  is  progressive  in 
its  nature,  and  comes  on  very  gradually,  the  person 
so  afflicted  generally  having  suffered  for  some  time 
from  some  functional  derangement.  Affections  of  the 
liver  are  very  closely  associated  with  melancholia. 
Suicidal  notions  exist  more  generally,  and  there  is 
often  a  repugnance  to  taking  nourishment.      It  has 


46  MAD  HUMANITY 

been  stated,  though  erroneously,  that  melancholic 
patients  are  never  known  to  shed  tears,  although 
exhibiting  great  emotion.  This  is  contrary  to  my 
general  experience  of  such  cases. 

There  are  various  forms  of  melancholia  : — 

1.  Melancholia  simplex. 

2.  Melancholia  concentrica. 

3.  Melancholia  statica. 

4.  Melancholia  peripherica. 

An  ordinary  attack  of  melancholia  may  be  in- 
cluded under  the  head  of  melancholia  simplex.  The 
other  forms  here  mentioned  are  recognised  by  some 
authorities,  but  by  others  they  are  included  under  the 
one  great  heading  of  "Melancholia."  The  profound 
mental  depression  associated  with  the  complaint  is 
accompanied  by  delusions,  often  of  a  religious  nature, 
similar  to  those -met  with  in  religious  insanity. 

Melancholies  are  often  monomaniacs,  that  is  to  say, 
insane  upon  one  subject,  and  considered  rational 
upon  others.  The  mind  is  then  absorbed  by  one 
predominant  idea,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others. 
They  are  very  restless,  and  are  thus  typically  described 
in  Burton's  Anatomy  of  Melanclioly :  "  They  are  soon 
tired  with  all  things ;  they  will  now  tarry ;  now 
begone ;  now  in  bed  they  will  rise,  now  up,  they  go  to 
bed  ;  now  pleased,  and  then  displeased  ;  now  they  like, 
then  dislike  all.  '  Seqidtur  nunc  vivendi  nunc  mori- 
endi  cupido,'  to  quote  Aurelianus.  Discontented, 
disquieted  upon  every  light  occasion,  or  no  occasion ; 
often  tempted  to  make  away  with  themselves ;  they 
cannot  die,  they  will  not  live ;  they  complain,  weep, 
lament,  and  think  they  live  a  most  miserable  life ; 
never  was  any  man  so  bad.     Jealousy  and  suspicion 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  47 

torment  them ;  they  are  peevish  and  distrustful  with 
their  best  friends." 

This  describes,  most  typically,  a  melancholic  patient, 
the  whole  symptoms  being  characterised  by  depression, 
suspicion,  suicidal  tendencies,  and  a  general  mistrust 
of  those  near  and  dear  to  them,  with  frequent 
ideas  of  persecution.  This  is  accompanied  by  one 
or  more  delusions.  The  bodily  health  of  the 
patient  frequently  gives  way  in  consequence  of  the 
continued  anxiety  and  restlessness,  and  the  many 
sleepless  and  agitated  nights.  The  paroxysms,  in 
some  cases,  increase  in  severity  towards  evening,  and 
are  sometimes  painfully  observable ;  the  anxiety  of 
the  patient  is  excessive,  occasionally  amounting  to 
absolute  raving  at  the  bare  notion  of  having  to  endure 
another  wakeful  night,  haunted  by  frightful  thoughts, 
which  are  of  a  most  depressing  character.  Sometimes 
there  appears  to  be  a  great  inward  struggle  going  on 
in  contemplating  suicide,  as  in  Hamlet's  soliloquy, 
"  To  be,  or  not  to  be,  that  is  the  question  "  ;  and  some- 
times the  case  is  not  recognised  at  its  outset,  and  the 
patient  destroys  himself  before  his  frends  are  con- 
vinced of  the  nature  of  the  malady.  It  is  most 
perplexing  and  difficult  to  determine  at  its  commence- 
ment ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  of  grave  import- 
ance that  it  should  be  detected  in  its  early  stage. 

Acute  melancholia  may  terminate  in : — 

1.  Chronic  melancholia. 

2.  Complete  recovery. 

3.  Acute  mania. 

If  there  is  any  strong  hereditary  taint,  a  termina- 
tion in  the  first  of  these  is  to  be  expected.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  is  no  such  predisposition,  w^e  may 


48  MAD  HUMANITY 

naturally  look  for  a  complete  and  absolute  recovery. 
It  may,  however,  as  previously  mentioned,  be  the 
precursor  of  acute  mania.  Sometimes  the  symptoms 
are  so  prolonged  in  their  duration  that  both  body  and 
mind  become  prostrated  and  weakened.  Owing  to  this 
condition,  and  to  the  fact  that  great  difficulty  is  ex- 
perienced in  inducing  the  patient  to  take  sufficient 
nourishment,  the  unhappy  individual  succumbs  to  the 
disease.  This  termination  is  not  very  common,  for, 
as  I  have  previously  said,  in  most  cases  we  may 
reasonably  expect  a  complete  recovery. 

Diagnosis  of  Acute  Melancliolia. — There  are  few 
diseases  that  can  be  mistaken  for  melancholia.  The 
intense  depression,  the  delusions,  the  sullen  aspect, 
knitted  brow,  apparent  inability  to  smile  or  evince  any 
enjoyment,  the  shunning  of  all  society  and  friends, 
the  constant  anxiety,  and  the  persistency  in  all  the 
morbid  symptoms,  are  not  to  be  observed  in  any  other 
mental  affection.  Hypochondriasis  is  a  modified  form 
of  melancholia,  and  it  may,  if  not  checked,  develop 
into  it.  Hypochondriacs,  though  always  dwelling  on 
their  own  symptoms,  will  be  free  from  any  positive 
delusion.  They  will  be  found,  if  taken  away  from 
their  own  imagination,  to  be  tolerably  cheerful  and 
chatty.  There  will  be  an  absence  of  that  strange 
physiognomy  found  in  melancholies.  There  will 
generally  be  marked  hepatic  mischief  present,  and 
dyspepsia  will  probably  exist.  The  hypochondriac 
often  consults  physician  after  physician,  apparently 
under  the  idea  that  each  one  has  mistaken  his  case. 
He  dreads  lest  he  should  become  permanently 
invalided,  and  clings  to  the  enjoyment  of  life 
and  its  pleasures.      Not  so  the  melancholic  :  he  thinks 


Melancholia  with  Delusions  of  Persecutiox. 
The  fixed,  sullen,  expressionless  countenance  is  well  depicted  lien 


MADNESS :  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  49 

of  life  with  repugnance,  and  often  seeks  death  as 
the  only  means  of  putting  an  end  to  his  tortured 
mind.  The  whole  mental  faculties  are  completely  dis- 
ordered in  melancholia ;  but  in  hypochondriasis  the 
intellect  is  clear,  the  ordinary  occupation  can  be 
followed  out,  and  few  persons,  except  the  medical 
advisers,  are  aware  of  the  condition  of  the  patient. 
The  person  here  either  quickly  recovers,  or  dwindles 
into  a  modified  form  of  melancholia. 

Many  cases  of  melancholia  have  occurred  in  conse- 
quence of  an  attack  of  influenza,  and  in  a  good  many 
cases  this  has  been  associated  with  suicidal  tendencies. 
It  produces  a  form  of  mental  depression  which  often 
passes  into  melancholia.  The  energy  of  the  individual 
who  suffers  from  influenza  diminishes,  the  general 
health  gets  into  a  low  condition,  and  the  mind  reacts 
upon  the  body,  and  vice  versa.  During  an  epidemic  of 
influenza,  when  the  symptoms  for  solitude  and  shun- 
ning society  become  apparent,  I  think  that  the  case 
requires  watching.  I  will  now  give  a  few  typical 
cases  of  melancholia. 

A  gentleman,  aged  forty-two,  suffered  from  a  severe 
attack  of  influenza.  In  the  spring  of  the  following 
year  he  became  much  depressed,  suffered  from  noises 
in  the  head  like  the  waves  of  the  sea ;  his  depression 
increased,  with  absence  of  all  mental  concentration,  and 
he  was  suicidal. 

A  lady,  aged  thirty,  suffered  from  depression  and 
lowness  of  spirits,  coming  on  gradually  for  the  last  two 
years.  She  imagined  that  people  were  going  to  harm 
her,  and  was  nervous  at  being  left  alone.  She  suffered 
from  headache,  insomnia,  and  heard  voices,  and  laughed 
continuously.      She  dreamt  a  good  deal.     There  was 


50  MAD  HUMANITY 

no  hereditary  insanity,  but  her  mother  died  of  con- 
sumption. 

A  gentleman,  whose  mind  wandered  from  subject  to 
subject,  did  not  interest  himself  in  anything,  was  very 
listless,  memory  very  bad,  constantly  contradicting 
liimself.  Inability  to  concentrate  his  mind  upon 
anything.  Whilst  in  conversation  would  not  look  you 
in  the  face.  Delusion  that  he  heard  voices  speaking 
to  him,  and  when  asked  what  they  said  he  burst  out 
into  loud  and  strange  laughter.  He  said  "  that  he 
was  much  depressed  at  times,  and  he  felt  as  if  he 
could  not  sometimes  control  himself."  This  patient 
had  a  mania  for  constantly  washing  himself,  and  he 
would  take  as  many  as  seven  baths  during  the  day. 
He  would  frequently  converse  with  himself,  and  at 
times  was  very  restless,  frequently  changing  his  room. 
When  taken  out  to  places  of  amusement  he  would 
suddenly,  for  no  reason,  jump  up  from  his  seat  and 
leave  before  it  had  commenced.  This  was  a  typical 
case  of  melancholia,  with  delusions  independent  of  that 
disease. 

A  lady,  aged  thirty-two,  suffered  from  mental 
depression,  ill  for  six  months.  In  an  apathetic  con- 
dition all  day,  having  no  inclination  to  get  up. 
Suffered  from  insomnia  and  drowsiness,  and  dreamt  a 
great  deal.  Teetotaller  all  her  life  ;  memory  very  bad. 
'A  boy,  aged  twenty.  Mental  depression,  with 
chokincj  sensation  in  throat.  Said  "  the  world  is  not 
big  enough  for  him,  and  that  he  alone  occupies  it." 
Was  suicidal,  though  he  stated  that  he  was  afraid  to 
commit  it,  but  he  was  apprehensive  lest  he  might  be 
tempted.  Took  no  interest  in  anything,  and  he  felt 
frightened. 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS   51 

A  lady,  aged  twenty-eight.  Always  been  of  a 
melancholy  temperament.  Attributed  an  increase  in 
her  symptoms  in  consequence  of  attending  so  many 
religious  meetings.  One  uncle  died  insane.  Suffered 
from  sleeplessness ;  terrified  feeling  at  night,  as  if 
something  dreadful  was  going  to  happen. 

A  lady,  aged  thirty-four.  Mental  depression. 
General  feeling  of  bewilderment  and  insomnia.  In 
early  morning  fell  asleep  only  for  a  short  time.  Much 
worse  in  the  morning,  and  complete  inability  to  rouse 
herself,  and  had  no  pleasure  in  anything. 

A  lady  suffered  from  great  depression,  feared  that 
she  might  commit  suicide.  The  depression  was  much 
w^orse  at  night,  and  she  generally  had  bad  dreams,  and 
was  unable  to  find  anything  pleasant  to  think  about. 
She  had  been  ill  for  three  years,  and  suffered  from 
asthma,  and  had  no  belief  in  anything. 

A  gentleman,  aged  twenty-five,  suffered  wdth  severe 
headaches  for  five  years,  which  were  worse  during  the 
day.  At  times  he  felt  quite  exhausted,  both  mentally 
and  bodily ;  memory  very  deficient,  which  failed  alto- 
gether sometimes.  There  was  a  want  of  confidence, 
absence  of  all  vitality  and  energy,  and  he  had  an 
uncontrollable  dread  lest  he  should  injure  himself,  and 
did  not  care  for  society,  and  sought  solitude.  The 
attack  had  been  coming  on  for  five  years. 

A  gentleman,  aged  twenty-eight,  had  been  ill  two 
months  following  religious  excitement.  Declined  food. 
Did  not  hear  voices  or  see  visions,  but  imagined  that 
he  had  been  very  wicked.  Memory  all  ]ight,  but  his 
thoughts  wandered  away.  His  grandmother  w^as 
insane.     The  patient  made  a  complete  recovery. 

A    lady    suffered    from    acute    melancholia,   heard 


52  MAD  HUMANITY 

imaginary  voices  calling  her  names,  and  said  that 
the  voices  were  present  all  through  the  night  and 
never  left  her.  She  was  in  a  semi-demented  condition, 
and  spoke  with  great  difficulty  and  in  a  very  low  tone 
of  voice,  looking  on  the  ground  all  the  time.  She 
appeared  to  have  been  in  this  condition  for  some 
time,  declining  all  food,  and  was  always  alluding  to 
the  voices. 

A  lady,  aged  fifty- four.  Mental  depression  three 
months ;  the  second  attack.  Inability  to  look  on  the 
bright  side  of  affairs,  or  to  manage  her  work  properly. 
Memory  bad,  and  the  symptoms  increased  towards 
evening,  and  kept  her  awake  at  night.  Was  very 
emotional,  and  could  not  follow  the  thread  of  what  she 
read.  General  disinclination  to  do  anything.  Patient 
completely  recovered. 

A  man,  aged  sixty -eight.  Mental  depression 
gradually  getting  worse.  Very  troublesome,  and 
worried  about  small  matters.  Very  restless,  waking 
up  very  early  in  the  morning.  Inability  to  concen- 
trate his  mind,  or  fix  his  attention  on  any  matter. 
His  mind  wandered  from  subject  to  subject.  He 
muttered  to  himself,  and  was  in  a  very  nervous  con- 
dition. This  state  increased,  and  he  became  very 
much  worse,  and  excitable,  utterly  unable  to  realise  his 
mental  condition,  or  to  submit  to  any  form  of  moderate 
control,  and  he  had  to  be  placed  in  an  institution. 

A  gentleman,  aged  fifty-two,  suffered  from  great 
irritability.  Weakness  of  purpose,  and  great  mental 
depression  at  times,  frequently  crying,  headache,  and 
sought  seclusion.  Occasionally  he  would  rush  off  for 
a  long  walk  so  that  he  might  escape  observation.  His 
uncle,  on  his  mother's  side,  died  in  an  asylum,  one 


MADNESS :  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  53 

cousin  on  father's  side  committed  suicide,  and  another 
cousin  suffered  from  melancholia.  He  had  nervous 
facial  twitchings,  and  had  been  ill  three  years.  Thirty 
years  ago  he  was  thrown  from  his  horse  on  the  back 
of  his  head.  He  had  hallucinations  of  hearing  and 
seeing.     Patient  recovered  completely. 

A  boy,  aged  twenty-four.  One  of  seven,  very  ner- 
vous family.  Memory  very  bad,  all  affection  apparently 
gone.  Xo  power  of  mental  concentration,  inability  to 
remember  what  he  had  read.  Suicidal  tendency,  and  all 
the  pleasures  of  life  appeared  to  have  left  him  entirely. 
Inability  to  cry,  and  absence  of  all  emotion.  Very 
much  depressed.  His  father  and  mother  were  first 
cousins. 

A  woman,  suffering  from  melancholia,  was  accused 
of  attempting  to  poison  a  daughter  of  a  neighbour 
with  whom  she  had  been  previously  on  good  terms. 
It  appeared  that  prior  to  this  event  she  had  mani- 
fested unequivocal  signs  of  mental  derangement,  dating 
from  the  loss  of  an  only  child,  about  six  years  pre- 
viously, to  whom  she  was  greatly  attached.  Her 
character  changed;  she  became  iU- tempered  and 
maUcious,  rejoicing  when  any  ill  befell  her  neighbours  ; 
and  instead  of  living  comfortably  mth  her  husband, 
she  made  his  Hfe  unhappy.  Her  mind  was  said  to  be 
constantly  agitated  and  disturbed,  without,  however, 
being  regarded  as  insane.  Her  whole  pleasui'e  seemed 
to  consist  in  speaking  of  her  lost  child,  except  when 
she  alluded  to  the  misfortunes  of  others.  The  reason 
assigned  for  the  attempt  at  poisoning  the  child  was 
that  she  might  cause  great  grief  to  the  mother,  with 
whom  she  had  quarrelled.  A  friend  stated  that  she 
had  heard  several  persons  ask  if  the  woman's  troubles 


54  MAD  HUMANITY 

had  not  affected  her  intellect,  since  she  was  continually 
speaking  on  that  subject  prior  to  the  attempt  at 
poisoning. 

Her  condition  immediately  preceding  the  act 
was  very  peculiar.  She  replied  only  when  spoken  to, 
she  was  habitually  sad  and  very  silent,  and  remained 
seated  with  her  eyes  cast  down,  passing  her  hand  over 
her  forehead,  and  not  paying  any  attention  to  what 
was  going  on  around  her  ;  her  appetite  was  disordered  ; 
she  scarcely  ever  ate  anything. 

Other  extravagant  actions  committed  by  her  before 
the  crime  of  poisoning  was  also  attempting  to  pull 
down  the  bed-curtains  when  in  bed,  cutting  her  own 
clothes  and  those  of  her  deceased  child  to  pieces,  and 
making  her  bed  up  in  the  granary.  There  was  in- 
coherency  in  speech.  After  she  had  been  confined  in 
prison  for  a  short  time,  she  complained  of  there  being 
black  cats  in  her  room ;  she  was  constantly  speaking 
of  self-destruction.  Her  symptoms  were  those  indi- 
cative of  melancholy  insanity :  the  attitude,  gestures, 
physiognomy,  want  of  sleep,  loss  of  appetite,  love  of 
solitude ;  the  delirium  of  the  passion  (which  is  the 
strongest  in  women),  the  love  of  offspring ;  hallucina- 
tions, convulsive  movements,  extravagant  ideas,  repre- 
sented by  equally  extravagant  actions,  having  all  the 
character  of  melancholy,  and  extending  as  far  as  the 
manifestation  of  the  desire  for  death,  and  finally,  the 
predominance  of  a  fixed  idea,  impressing  its  seal  in 
the  whole  moral  and  physical  being.  The  correctness 
of  her  memory  as  to  dates,  general  coherence  in  her 
conversation,  reason  in  her  actions  were  present  in  her. 

A  well-marked  expression  of  mental  wandering  and 
sadness  was  observed  in  her  attitude  and  physiognomy ; 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  55 

she  appeared  agitated  and  oppressed,  complaining  of 
want  of  appetite,  thirst,  and  headache.  She  thought 
she  saw  her  daughter,  heard  her  voice,  perceived  flames, 
and  imagined  that  she  embraced  and  touched  her, 
though  she  suddenly  disappeared,  so  that  she  only 
seized  a  shadow.  She  obstinately  denied  having  given 
poison  to  her  neighbour's  child,  but  manifested  great 
hatred  against  the  father.  Her  conversation  did  not 
betray  any  signs  of  general  insanity,  except  when  on 
the  subject  of  her  daughter,  to  which  she  constantly 
and  irresistibly  led  up.  The  remembrance  of  her 
child  produced  tears,  and  gave  a  very  singular  con- 
vulsive expression  to  her  face.  She  was  tried,  and 
acquitted  on  the  ground  of  insanity. 

General  Paralysis  of  the  Insane 

Sym2:)toms  of  General  Pamlysis  of  the  Insane. 

General  Paralysis  of  the  insane  is  one  of  the  most 
subtle  and  obscure  diseases  to  which  the  brain  is  liable. 
Its  approaches  are  generally  so  insidious,  and  con- 
sequently so  unobserved,  that  in  many  instances  it 
has  been  known  to  have  made  considerable  progress 
long  before  its  existence  has  even  been  suspected. 

In  the  incipient  stage  of  this  disease  the  mischief 
going  on  in  the  brain  gives  no  distinct  evidence  of  its 
presence,  except  to  the  experienced  qjq  of  the  physician, 
when  his  attention  has  been  directed  to  some  abnormal 
mental  and  bodily  symptom  which  may  have  attracted 
the  observation  of  those  immediately  related  to  the 
patient. 

There  are  three  distinct  stages  of  general  paralysis 
of  the  insane. 


56  MAD  HUMANITY 

^  First  stage  is  that  of  exalted  monomania,  and  is 
characterised  by  general  exaltation  of  ideas,  and  of 
imaginary  greatness  and  strength.  This  stage  may 
assume  all  sorts  of  phases,  but  the  general  character- 
istic of  it  is  extravagant  notions  of  one  sort  or  other. 
This  may  be  of  varied  duration. 

A  man  who  has,  up  to  the  time  of  the  disease, 
conducted  himself  with  propriety  and  decorimi,  will 
suddenly,  and  apparently  without  any  assignable  cause, 
have  very  exalted  ideas ;  these  will  not  amount  to 
actual  delusions  at  first.  He  will  devise  various 
schemes  for  amassing  wealth,  or  will  mentally  possess 
exalted  ideas  of  his  rank.  He  will  have  these  notions 
for  a  variable  period,  and  then  others  of  a  similar 
nature  will  take  possession  of  his  mind  ;  he  will  try 
and  persuade  his  friends  that  he  is  a  man  of  consider- 
able importance.  Instead  of  being,  as  he  was  before 
his  illness,  a  modest  and  quiet  man,  he  will  be  noisy, 
rarely  if  ever  silent,  and  rush  into  reckless  speculations, 
perhaps  buy  numerous  shares  for  which  he  is  entirely 
unable  to  pay.  ISTevertheless,  he  will  endeavour  to 
persuade  his  friends,  who  are  reluctant  to  believe  him 
to  be  of  unsound  mind,  that  he  has  a  large  amount  of 
money  at  his  command. 

The  symptoms  previously  referred  to  (omitting 
minor  ones)  will  often  be  observed  in  cases  of  general 
paralysis  prior  to  their  admission  into  an  asylum. 
During  this  early  stage  of  the  disease,  in  numerous 
cases,  there  are  no  symptoms  of  muscular  paralysis, 
though  they  are  present  in  some ;  but  after  the  stage 
of  exalted  monomania  has  existed  for  a  time,  variable 
in  extent,  undeniable  symptoms  of  paralysis  present 
themselves.       Immediately    preceding    the     paralysis 


MADNESS :  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  57 

there  is  often  observed  palpable  exacerbation  in  the 
symptoms.  The  patient  becomes  very  noisy,  boasts  of 
his  extraordinary  muscular  power,  and  it  often  happens 
that  the  unhappy  man,  who  can  scarcely  stand  upright 
without  support,  will  boast  of  possessing  herculean 
strength. 

Second  stage  is  characterised  by  partial  paralysis, 
especially  in  the  tongue,  the  speech  being  thick  and 
resembling  that  of  a  person  intoxicated.  The  muscles 
of  the  extremities  also  show  marked  indications  of 
weakness,  and  this  is  a  very  prominent  symptom  in 
some  cases.  The  delusions  existing  in  the  first  stage 
will  also  be  found  here  in  a  varied  degree,  and  the 
memory  will  be  most  defective,  especially  for  recent 
events,  which  is  the  real  test  of  memory. 

The  first  indication  of  the  progress  of  the  malady 
is  often  observed  in  the  speech.  The  patient  will 
have  difficulty  in  articulating  words ;  he  will  stammer, 
clip  and  repeat  the  same  words  over  and  over  again, 
either  at  the  beginning  or  end  of  a  sentence.  I  have 
seen  marked  cases  illustrative  of  this  phenomenon. 
I  remember  once  observing  a  musician,  who  the  pre- 
vious day  had  shown  no  decided  symptoms  of  muscular 
paralysis,  but  on  the  following  morning  when  he  came 
to  breakfast  his  speech  was  muffled,  and  he  articulated 
with  considerable  difficulty,  repeating  the  same  words 
over  in  rapid  succession. 

The  tongue,  in  these  cases  of  general  paralysis,  will 
be  the  first  organ  affected.  The  patient,  upon  being 
asked  to  show  his  tongue,  will  protrude  it  straight 
forward  ;  it  will  be  tremulous,  but  not  to  one  side  or  the 
other,  and  will  be  drawn  back  again  suddenly.  The 
facial  muscles  will  not  be  actually  paralysed ;  never- 


58  MAD  HUMANITY 

theless,  those  accustomed  to  see  these  cases  will  notice 
a  want  of  mobility  in  the  features.  The  angle  of  the 
mouth  will  not  be  drawn  to  either  side.  The  peculiar 
affection  of  the  tongue,  and  the  difficulty  of  articulat- 
ing, in  a  person  whose  brain  and  mind  are  affected, 
will  clearly  indicate  the  serious  condition  of  the 
malady. 

Soon  after  the  difficulty  in  articulation,  and  the 
tremulous  motion  of  the  tongue  have  made  their  appear- 
ance, the  patient  will  become  unsteady  in  his  gait,  his 
walk  resembling^  that  of  a  man  in  a  state  of  intoxica- 
tion,  and  his  legs  will  appear  unable  to  support  him. 
It  has  been  asserted  by  some  medical  men,  that  in 
general  paralysis  of  the  insane  the  arms  are  affected 
before  the  legs,  and  that  the  partial  paralysis  of  the 
arms  is  often  overlooked  in  the  early  stage  of  the 
disease.  In  the  majority  of  the  cases  that  I  have 
seen,  I  have  found  the  legs  were  paralysed  before  the 
arms.  The  paralysis  once  becoming  manifest,  the 
patient  will  become  more  and  more  intractable,  he 
will  exhibit  great  obstinacy,  refuse  to  have  any  deal- 
ings with  his  friends  or  relations,  and  constantly 
mutters  incoherent  things  to  himself ;  his  general 
health  will  be  very  good,  and  during  the  disease  the 
patient  will  grow  fat :  at  least,  such  has  been  the  rule 
in  the  cases  I  have  seen.  The  muscles  of  the  trunk 
are  not  in  the  least  affected,  and  there  is  no  loss  of 
sensation  in  any  part  of  the  body.  The  fingers  as 
well  as  the  arms  and  legs  are  paralysed. 

The  patient  during  this  stage  will  be  troubled  with 
a  great  many  delusions,  whilst  the  skin  will  be  cold, 
showing  a  low  degree  of  vitality. 

Third   stage  is  one  of  complete  dementia,  and  a 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS   59 

general  paralytic  condition  of  all  the  organs  will  be 
observable.  This  last  stage  is  of  short  duration,  and 
most  generally  one  or  more  epileptiform  attacks  will 
put  an  end  to  the  patient's  sufferings.  He  will  be 
unable  to  give  expression  to  his  thoughts.  He  may 
mutter  occasionally  a  few  incoherent  sentences,  and 
eventually  he  will  become  as  helpless  as  a  child.  He 
cannot  feed  himself,  although  his  appetite  is  voracious, 
he  will  gaze  vacantly  around,  and  gradually  become 
physically  prostrated.  Under  these  circumstances 
death  appears  imminent,  but  suddenly,  however,  he 
may  regain  strength  and  rally  for  a  time. 

During  this  period  of  the  disease,  as  I  have  said,  it 
is  not  unusual  for  epileptiform  convulsions  to  take 
place.  These  convulsions  may  assume  the  type  of 
"  petit  mal "  or  "  grand  mal,"  i.e.  slight  or  severe,  but 
whether  they  assume  the  character  of  the  former  or 
the  latter,  their  appearance  prognosticates  a  fatal  ter- 
mination, and  that,  too,  in  a  short  time.  The  mouth 
in  this  stage  is  opened  mechanically  when  food  is 
offered,  but  the  ability  to  swallow  is  nearly  gone. 
The  patient  cannot  support  his  own  weight,  and  his 
arms  become  immovable.  The  respiration  is  hurried, 
and  performed  with  difficulty.  In  all  probability  there 
will  be  stertorous  breathing,  bed-sores  soon  appear, 
exhaustion  follows,  and  death  closes  the  melancholy 
scene.  Such  is  the  description  of  a  case  of  genend 
paralysis  of  the  insane  as  seen  in  our  asylums. 

The  disease,  from  first  to  last,  varies  from  one  year 
to  eighteen  months,  from  the  first  actual  indication  of 
its  symptoms.  It  is  rarely  met  with  in  women,  and 
the  most  common  period  of  life  for  it  to  commence  is 
about   thirty -four.       It   is   hopelessly   incurable,  and 


60  MAD  HUMANITY 

though  many  remedies  have  from  time  to  time  been 
suggested,  none  have  as  yet  been  found  to  which  the 
disease  will  yield  in  any  way.  It  may  sometimes, 
however,  be  arrested  temporarily,  but  ultimately  breaks 
out  afresh.  It  frequently  happens  that  a  man  ruins 
himself  and  his  family  in  consequence  of  the  non- 
recognition  of  this  disease  in  its  early  stage ;  they 
apparently  shut  their  eyes  to  the  real  condition. 

Diagnosis  of  General  Paralysis  of  the  Insane. — 
General  paralysis  of  the  insane,  in  its  early  stage,  is 
sometimes  mistaken  for  acute  mania.  In  both  diseases 
we  may  have  that  characteristic  exaltation  of  ideas 
diagnostic  of  general  paralysis  of  the  insane,  and  it 
then  becomes  very  difficult  to  decide  whether  we  have 
to  deal  with  a  case  of  acute  mania  or  one  of  general 
paralysis.  General  paralysis  never  occurs  suddenly, 
as  is  the  case  sometimes  with  acute  mania.  There  is 
always  a  history  of  one  or  more  excesses  committed  by 
the  patient  previous  to  the  actual  development  of  the 
complaint.  A  complete  change  in  the  general  tem- 
perament and  habits  of  the  individual  will  have  been 
observable  for  some  time  before  the  attack  has  become 
evident.  There  is  an  absence  of  that  incredulity  and 
mistrust  of  those  around,  so  often  conspicuous  during 
the  ingress  of  acute  mania.  After  the  disease  has 
become  fully  developed,  there  is  no  other  complaint 
which  can  possibly  be  mistaken  for  it.  The  chief 
diagnostic  symptoms  by  which  we  can  positively  state 
the  nature  of  the  disease  are  thickness  of  speech,  diffi- 
culty of  articulation,  tremulous  movement  of  the  tongue, 
clipping  of  words,  a  partially  paralytic  gait,  together 
with  the  exaltation  of  ideas  universally  observed 
throughout  the  malady ;    and  later  on  the  complete 


Gknehal  Paralysis  of  the  Insane. 


MADNESS:   SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  61 

state  of  dementia  into  which  the  patient  dwindles, 
followed  by  the  epileptiform  convulsions  previously 
alluded  to.  The  diagnosis  in  this  stage  becomes  very 
easy  of  recognition,  and  no  experienced  person  can 
possibly  mistake  the  disease  for  anything  else,  though 
errors  are  often  made  in  the  early  stage.  Great 
caution  must  be  used  in  giving  a  prognosis  before  the 
partial  paralysis  has  become  apparent.  When  this  is 
so,  we  can  give  an  opinion  that  the  case  is  one  of 
general  paralysis  of  the  insane,  incurable  in  its  nature, 
and  as  sure  of  a  fatal  termination  as  if  the  disease  was 
phthisis.  Indeed,  some  persons  have  characterised  it 
as  "  consumption  of  the  brain."  There  is  not  the 
slightest  resemblance,  though  some  writers  have  stated 
otherwise,  between  this  complaint  and  "progressive 
muscular  atrophy,"  or  "  locomotor  ataxy."  Both  these 
diseases  are  spinal  affections,  whereas  the  one  now 
under  consideration  is  distinctly  cerebral  from  the 
very  first,  the  paralytic  symptoms  being  due  to  brain 
lesion,  and  not,  as  in  the  case  of  the  other  two  diseases, 
to  morbid  conditions  of  the  spinal  cord,  and  where  the 
brain  but  rarely  becomes  implicated.  The  age  at 
which  the  disease  appears  is  another  important  guide 
to  us  in  determining  the  malady.  It  very  rarely 
occurs  before  the  age  of  thirty-two,  or  after  sixty. 
Another  peculiarity  of  the  complaint  is  observable  in 
the  caligraphy  of  the  patient,  and  in  the  composition 
of  the  matter  which  he  attempts  to  place  on  paper,  as 
will  be  seen  by  the  specimens  I  exhibit.  A  letter 
written  by  a  patient  suffering  from  general  paralysis 
will  generally  be  incoherent,  words  are  left  out  here 
and  there,  running  the  sentences  one  into  the  other. 
The    writing    is   very   scratchy,    uneven,    and    differs 


62  MAD  HUMANITY 

materially  from  his  ordinary  hand;  that  which  can 
be  understood  relates  to  the  delusions  under  which  the 
patient  suffers.  He  believes  himself  sane,  and,  as  an 
ill-used  man,  he  writes  to  demand  his  liberty,  threaten- 
ing legal  proceedings  if  this  is  not  forthwith  granted, 
or  offers  large  sums  of  money  for  various  objects ; 
whilst,  suddenly,  he  will  wander  away  from  what  he 
is  writing  and  inform  the  person  with  whom  he  is  in 
correspondence  that  he  has  come  into  untold  wealth  ; 
that  he  is  king  of  all  he  surveys,  and  that  the  asylum 
and  all  its  surroundings  are  his  property,  enclosing, 
perhaps,  a  cheque  for  a  fabulous  sum  as  a  present,  and 
offering  to  confer  the  dignity  of  prince,  lord,  or  some 
other  title.  The  words  are  frequently  misspelt,  wrong 
letters  being  inserted  for  the  proper  ones.  The  letter 
is  often  begun  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  paper,  or 
written  backwards,  and  every  available  piece  of  paper 
is  utilised  for  the  purpose  of  writing  messages,  or  send- 
ing imaginary  telegrams.  The  newspaper  is  covered 
all  over  with  these  hieroglyphics,  and  we  find  that 
he  has  mentally  bought  all  the  houses  he  had  seen 
advertised,  or  that  he  has  purchased  whatever  he  may 
have  seen  mentioned  in  the  advertising  columns.  He 
will  write  innumerable  letters  to  his  various  friends, 
acquainting  them  of  his  enormous  acquisitions.  I  have 
given  a  typical  case  of  this  in  the  chapter  "  Strange 
Cases."  After  a  few  hours,  he  has  forgotten  all  about 
this  until  next  morning,  when  the  same  proceedings 
will  be  gone  through.  This  peculiar  condition  is 
characteristic  of  general  paralysis.  It  is  a  most 
important  diagnostic  symptom,  and  should  help  us 
greatly  in  the  determination  as  to  what  the  malady 
is  that  we  have  under  our  immediate  observation. 


MADNESS:    SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  63 

Another  phase  in  the  diagnosis  of  general  paralysis 
is  the  peculiar  way  which  patients  can  suddenly  be 
turned  from  what  they  have  been  talking  about  to 
something  quite  foreign  to  it.  A  patient  is  full  of 
extravagant  fancies  and  delusions ;  he  may  be  en- 
deavouring to  persuade  the  superintendent  of  the 
asylum  to  let  him  go  out  and  realise  his  ideas,  when, 
by  the  most  trivial  remark,  his  mind  and  attention 
are  turned  to  other  matters,  forgetting  what,  only  a 
few  moments  before,  he  was  eager  to  accomplish,  and 
all  absorbed  in. 

Patients  suffering  from  this  complaint  are  lost  to 
all  sense  of  shame  and  decency.  All  their  moral 
instincts  have  disappeared,  and  they  are  most 
slovenly,  dirty,  and  careless  in  their  behaviour  and 
dress,  their  mind  alone  being  occupied  in  their 
wonderful  imaginary  greatness,  their  great  riches  or 
strength,  to  the  exclusion  of  everything  else. 

The  memory,  as  the  disease  makes  rapid  but  fatal 
strides,  becomes  gradually  worse,  until  a  perfect  blank 
exists  where  but  very  recently  a  human  mind  was  to 
be  found  in  all  its  greatness  and  wonder.  The  chief 
cause  for  this  sad  and  hopelessly  incurable  condition 
is  overwork,  especially  in  those  mentally  predisposed 
to  insanity.  Intemperance,  immorality,  and  other 
excesses  have  been  frequently  stated  as  causes,  but 
they  are  generally  the  effect  of  the  complaint,  in- 
creasing, however,  as  the  disease  progresses,  and 
aggravating  by  their  presence  the  mental  disorder. 
As  I  have  previously  stated,  there  is  great  difficulty 
in  detecting  the  disease  during  its  premonitory  stage. 
The  brain  is  affected  for  some  time  before  the  patient 
has  been   placed  under   supervision.      He   may   have 


64  MAD  HUMANITY 

given  way  to  excesses  whilst  the  disease  was  in  its 
incubatory  stage,  the  relatives  seizing  upon  the 
excesses  committed  as  the  immediate  and  actual  cause 
of  the  general  paralysis. 

A  gentleman  suffered  from  intense  loquacity,  con- 
versation rambling  from  subject  to  subject,  loss  of 
memory  for  recent  events,  boasting  of  his  great 
strength,  said  he  was  going  to  take  a  number  of 
houses  to  live  in,  and  his  condition  varied  from  one  of 
excitement  to  the  opposite.  At  the  commencement 
of  his  attack  he  got  a  pistol,  which  he  concealed 
under  the  bed,  and  lately  he  had  ordered  half  the 
contents  of  a  shop  to  be  sent  to  where  he  was  stay- 
ing. After  one  fit,  his  mind  had  gradually  become 
deteriorated,  and  his  speech  became  affected,  and  he 
threatened  suicide.  Every  possible  piece  of  poetry 
that  he  came  across  he  would  copy  and  send  to  his 
friends.  There  was  nothing  hereditary  in  the  case, 
and  his  age  was  sixty. 

Most  of  these  cases  are  more  or  less  similar  in 
their  symptoms  and  progress. 

Chronic  Mania. — Having  carefully  described  general 
paralysis  of  the  insane,  I  now  propose  to  consider  very 
briefly  the  other  forms  of  chronic  insanity.  Chronic 
mania  is  a  condition  into  which  a  patient  may  dwindle 
after  an  attack  of  acute  mania  has  more  or  less  sub- 
sided. This  may  continue  for  years,  during  which 
time  the  patient  remains  in  an  unchanged  mental 
state,  taking  little,  if  any,  interest  in  anything  that 
goes  on  around  him.  Delusions  are  often  prominent, 
but  sometimes  he  is  in  a  state  of  dementia.  The 
general  health  continues  to  improve,  and  there  is  a 
tendency  also  here  to  grow  stout. 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS   65 

Patients  suffering  from  chronic  mania  sometimes 
have    frequent    outbursts   and   violent    seizures,    and 
many  of  them  have  mischievous  propensities,  and  are 
very  destructive  and  dirty  in  their  habits.      The  chief 
symptoms  indicative   of  chronic  mania  are  delusions 
not  generally  of  a  fixed  character,  but  varied  in  their 
nature,   rambling    and    incoherency   in    conversation, 
inability  to   fix  the  attention,  or  to  concentrate  the 
mind   upon    any    subject    apart    from    their    morbid 
notions.      Shouting    out    loud    and    making    a    noise 
often  exists,  but,  on  the  other  hand,   many   of   the 
cases    are    harmless    and   quiet    in   their   demeanour. 
The  patients  so  afflicted  will  generally  do  as  they  are 
told,  and   are   as   helpless   as   children.       Others   are 
inclined  to  be  obstinate,  and  resist  those  in  authority. 
Some  will   sit  for   hours  in   one   place,  until  told  to 
remove  from  it.      Cases  of  this  description  are  usually 
of  long  duration,  and  when  they  shuffle  off  this  mortal 
coil,  it  is  not  from  brain  disease  that  they  ultimately 
succumb,  but  from  some  bodily  complaint  to  which 
they  might  have  been  subjected  had  they  been  like 
ordinary  mortals  as  far  as  their  mental  state  was  con- 
cerned.    All  acute  varieties   of  insanity,  if  recovery 
does  not  take  place,  or  death  terminate  their  suffer- 
ings, will  gradually  pass  into  a  chronic  form.    Among 
the  chief  may  be  mentioned  dementia,  chronic  melan- 
cholia,  softening,  and   the  variety  of  chronic  mania 
which  I  have  just  described. 

Dementia. — This  form  of  insanity  may  be  acute  or 
chronic.  There  is  total  absence  of  all  reasoning  power, 
incoherency  in  language,  inability  to  realise  the  true 
relation  of  things,  rambling,  incoherent  conversation, 
the   patient   being  unconscious   of  what  he  is  really 

F 


66  MAD  HUMANITY 

saying,  and  loss  of  memory.  Frequently  he  will  repeat 
the  same  sentences  over  and  over  again.  Chronic 
dementia  is  often  the  result  of  an  acute  attack  of 
insanity.  All  intelligence  appears  to  be  lost,  and  he 
is  apparently  unable  to  understand  any  question  put  to 
him,  and  is  in  a  hopeless  condition  of  mental  prostra- 
tion. Sometimes  the  patients  are  liable  to  sudden 
paroxysms  of  violence,  but,  as  a  rule,  they  are  easily 
controlled  and  tractable. 

Idiocy  may  be  defined  as  being  arrested  intelligence, 
arising  from  some  malformation  of  the  cranium  and 
defective  organisation  of  the  brain,  generally  mani- 
fested at  birth.  There  are  degrees  of  idiocy  ;  whilst  in 
some  there  are  faint  glimmers  of  intelligence  and  affec- 
tions, in  others  these  are  entirely  absent.  Idiots  of 
the  lower  class  are  mere  organisms,  masses  of  flesh 
and  blood  in  human  shape,  in  which  the  brain  has  no 
command  over  the  system,  and  therefore  they  have  no 
power  of  speech  or  locomotion,  and  no  intellectual  or 
reflective  faculties. 

Imhecility. — In  this  form  of  mental  complaint  the 
patient  is  very  weak-minded,  can  be  easily  led,  and  is 
under  the  influence  of  other  people.  The  higher 
faculties  of  the  mind  are  generally  undeveloped,  but 
they  may  be  slightly  manifested,  the  memory  is  good, 
and  though  he  may  have  no  actual  delusions,  he  is  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  of  unsound  mind,  and  unfit 
to  manasje  himself  or  his  affairs. 

The  form  of  defective  brain,  commonly,  but  in- 
appropriately, called  senile  dementia,  is  by  no  means 
peculiar  to  old  age,  for  we  often  see  it  in  men  of 
forty  who  have  been  subjected  to  great  anxiety,  or 
who  have  indulged  in  considerable  excesses.     Nothing 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS    67 

remains  in  the  mind  of  such  men  hut  what  has  heen 
studied — that  is,  has  occupied  the  conjoint,  continu- 
ous, and  uninterrupted  attention  of  hoth  hrains.  The 
ordinary  occurrences  of  life  are  forgotten  immediately. 
A  man  tells  a  story  which  rests  perfectly  in  his  memory, 
but  he  forgets  that  he  told  it  to  the  same  persons  not 
half  an  hour  ago.  A  physician,  now  dead,  said : 
"  They  tell  me  my  memory  is  failing.  How  absurd  ! 
Why,  I  could  at  this  moment  repeat  800  lines 
from  Homer."  And  he  began  to  inflict  them  upon 
his  listener,  forgetting  that  within  a  few  hom^s  he  had 
twice  before  told  him  the  same  thing,  to  establish  the 
same  proof  of  his  unfailing  powers.  >n  The  real  test  of 
memory  is  for  recent  events,  not  for  what  happened 
years  ago. 

I  recommend,  as  the  best  means  of  re-establishing 
the  power  of  concentration,  to  learn  by  heart  pieces  of 
oratory  or  of  poetry,  especially  the  former,  which  is  a 
severer  exercise,  because  the  memory  is  not  aided  by 
rhyme.  Do  not  be  discouraged  by  the  headache  which 
for  a  time  accompanies  the  process.  This  will  cease, 
and  the  sufferer  will  be  surprised  at  the  increase  of 
power  he  will  gradually  acquire — a  power  which  he 
will  discover  to  be  accompanied  by  increased  mental 
vigour  in  matters  quite  unconnected  with  his  studies. 

In  extreme  cases,  accompanied  by  the  torpor  of  old 
age,  the  brain  seems  to  be  in  a  state  resembling  that 
produced  by  concussion.  The  sympathetic  system  is 
carrying  on  the  business  of  life  vicariously  for  the 
brain ;  but  in  both  these  examples,  if  a  loud  sound  be 
made  to  attract  the  attention,  and  a  question  be  then 
asked  in  a  powerful  tone  of  voice,  the  brain  is  capable 
of   being    roused    into   distinct    perceptions.       Much 


68  MAD  HUMAXITY 

observation  convinces  me  that  many  aged  persons  are 
left  to  go  into  the  sleep  of  death  for  want  of  this 
stimulus.  There  are  occasions  where  the  prolongation 
of  the  life  of  an  old  person  for  a  single  week  may 
make  the  difference  of  poverty  or  competence  to  the 
survivors.  I  remember  one  case  where  a  gentleman 
died  at  eleven  o'clock  on  the  28th  of  September,  and 
left  his  family  in  great  distress,  when  had  he  lived  a 
couple  of  hours  more,  he  would  have  placed  them  in 
comparative  ease.  It  is  so  very  natural  to  consider  it  a 
cruelty  to  rouse  them  from  their  state  of  calmness  and 
repose,  that  I  have  been  more  than  once  out- voted  on 
such  occasions.  But  it  is  like  the  torpor  of  persons 
benumbed  with  cold.  If  they  sleep,  it  is  the  sleep  of 
death.  One  half  of  the  brain  always  "  goes  out  "  before 
the  other  ;  but  previous  to  its  extinction  in  this  gradual 
manner,  it  may  obey  the  commands  of  its  more  ener- 
getic brother,  when  thoroughly  roused,  long  enough  to 
dictate  a  will  which  may  save  a  family  from  destruc- 
tion. 

Softening  of  the  Brain 

One  of  the  most  common  forms  of  chronic  disease 
of  the  brain  is  what  is  understood  by  "  softening." 
Many  of  these  cases,  unfortunately,  come  under  one's 
observation  periodically.  People  in  the  possession  of 
their  healthful  vigour,  in  full  swing  of  professional 
success,  suddenly  collapse  into  a  condition  of  hopeless 
fatuity,  losing  all  their  mental  faculties  in  consequence 
of  a  breakdown  from  over-exercise  of  their  cerebral 
functions.  This  impairment  of  the  intelligence  and 
sudden  collapse  of  the  powers  of  understanding,  this 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS    69 

deviation   from   vigorous   mental   capacity   to   almost 
hopeless  imbecility,  have  frequently  given   but  little 
warnings    of   their    approach;     the    loss    of    mental 
capacity  has  apparently  been  sudden,  yet,  upon  a  close 
investigation  into   the   history  of  the   case,  one  can 
generally  detect  a  faint  glimmer  of  the  disease,  very 
far   remote    from    the    positive    development    of   the 
symptoms  which  were  considered  indicative  of  organic 
brain  disease.)^  This  softening  of  the  brain  is  not^'con- 
fined   to   professional  men,  but  to  all  classes  whose 
occupation   exposes  them  to  protracted   anxiety  and 
^^^5i!2SL^.i?i^<^^-      If  the  disease  occurs  at  an  early 
age,  which  is  rare,  it  is  generally  associated  with  acute 
brain    affections,   and    the    indications    are    those    of 
active  disease  in  that  organ.      It  is  a  most  important 
thing  to  diagnose  the  symptoms  in  the  early  stage, 
for  if  they  be  mistaken  or  overlooked,  and  the  affec- 
tion be  neglected  while  in  its  infancy,  little  or  nothing 
can  be  done,  when   the  disease,  in  all  its   formidable 
characteristics,   becomes   manifest.   ^With   regard   to 
the  precursory  symptoms  I  would  describe  them  as 
being  those  of  headache,  the  pain  being  often  circum- 
scribed. ^'  The   headache  is  frequently  of  one  year's 
duration.       Combined  with    this   we   have   imperfect 
vision,  attacks  of  dizziness,  a  sensation  of  weight  in 
tlie  head,  double  vision,  optical  illusions,  and  frequently 
a  want  of  sensation  in  the  scalp.      The  symptoms  I 
have  just  mentioned  are  generally  precursors  of  the 
organic   type   of  the   disease,  but   in   some  cases  no 
headache  exists.     These  symptoms  are  varied   by  a 
feeling   of   numbness,  accompanied    by   an    irregular 
action  of  the  organs  of  voluntary  motion.      I  have 
frequently  observed  that  a  diseased  sensation  of  the 


70  MAD  HUMANITY 

irregular  muscular  action,  and  mere  loss  of  power  in 
the  muscular  system,  have  been  noticed  for  some  time 
prior  to  the  development  of  the  well-marked  and 
characteristic  signs  of  softening.  If  the  head  symp- 
toms have  developed,  it  is  necessary  to  watch  from  day 
to  day  the  condition  of  the  muscular  power.  In  some 
cases  we  are  able  to  trace  the  symptom  of  diminished 
motor  power  some  time  previous  to  the  development 
of  absolute  paralysis.  Muscular  debility  is  generally 
precursory  of  irregular  muscular  action  or  deficiency 
of  motor  power.  The  patient  who  suffers  from  head 
symptoms  will  complain  of  a  want  of  tone  in  the 
muscles ;  he  will  find  himself  incapable  of  taking  his 
usual  amount  of  exercise ;  he  will  often  feel  under  the 
necessity  of  sitting  down  whilst  out  walking.  There 
is  occasional  weakness  of  the  leg  or  ankle,  which  comes 
on  suddenly ;  there  is  often  want  of  co  -  ordination 
of  the  limbs;  as  the  disease  advances  the  speech  be- 
comes affected  and  the  memory  impaired,  also  a  tremu- 
lous state  of  the  tongue,  and  hesitation  of  speech,  loss 
of  voluntary  power  over  the  ideas,  and  inability  to 
pronounce  certain  letters,  especially  the  letter  "E." 
With  regard  to  the  physical  symptoms  which  show 
themselves  in  the  early  stages  may  be  mentioned  a  feel- 
ing of  debility  over  the  whole  body,  heaviness,  numb- 
ness, loss  of  power  in  the  extremities,  usually  on  one 
side,  and  a  constant  sensation  as  if  the  limbs  were 
asleep.  Then  there  is  persistent  headache,  giddiness, 
stammering,  spectral  visions,  and  noises  in  the  ears. 
I  consider  the  most  typical  symptom,  and  one  of  the 
first  to  be  observed,  is  loss  of  memory.  Whenever 
the  brain  has  been  overworked,  and  the  memory  is 
failing,  serious  apprehensions  must  be  aroused.     An 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS    71 

immediate  cessation  from  all  mental  exertion  is 
absolutely  essential.  But  the  symptom,  however,  more 
particularly  deserving  of  notice,  is  the  loss  of  volun- 
tary power  over  the  ideas,  and  the  disposition  to 
substitute  one  word  for  another.  These  symptoms 
very  often  precede  those  which  are  generally  regarded 
as  characteristic  of  softening.  The  substitution  of 
one  word  for  another  is  a  remarkable  premonitory 
symptom,  and  is  often  precursory  of  paralysis,  the 
paralysis  of  the  ideas  appearing  to  precede  that  of  the 
tongue.  The  misplacement  of  words  is  very  common, 
and  at  times  apparently  the  patient  is  very  angry 
with  himself,  being  conscious  of  the  fact. 

A  gentleman,  who  appeared,  apparently,  in  ex- 
cellent health,  manifested  these  symptoms  for  several 
days,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  himself  and  those 
about  him.  About  a  week  afterwards  he  was  suddenly 
seized  with  an  attack  of  paralysis  whilst  at  breakfast, 
of  which  he  ultimately  died. 

A  medical  man,  a  general  practitioner,  had  for 
some  years  been  occupied  in  conducting  an  extensive 
country  practice.  Not  satisfied  with  the  amount  of 
anxiety  necessarily  resulting  from  his  professional 
labours,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  sitting  up  until  two 
or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  engaged  in  study. 
His  mind  soon  became  impaired;  and,  committing  some 
acts  of  extravagance  whilst  out  visiting  his  patients, 
he  was  detained  by-  a  magistrate,  and,  with  the  con- 
sent of  his  family,  was  sent  to  a  county  asylum.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  weeks  he  was  transferred  to 
another  institution.  The  case  gave  unequivocal  in- 
dications of  great  mental  debility,  with  obvious  in- 
cipient paralysis.     There  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  the 


72  MAD  HUMANITY 

nature  of  the  case.  All  who  saw  the  gentleman  pro- 
nounced him  to  have  softening  of  the  brain.  In  eight 
months  he  was  apparently  perfectly  restored.  Six 
months  after  he  came  to  London  for  the  purpose  of  a 
consultation  relative  to  a  practice,  the  purchase  for 
which  he  was  negotiating,  and  he  continued  well.  In 
this  case,  in  addition  to  the  affection  of  the  mind,  there 
was  loss  of  power  over  the  voluntary  muscles.  Not- 
withstanding all  these  most  alarming  symptoms,  this 
gentleman  was  restored,  re-entered  his  profession,  and 
continued  to  exercise  its  responsible  duties.  Alas ! 
these  cures  are  not  of  common  occurrence. 

A  gentleman,  whose  property  was  made  the  sub- 
ject of  vexatious  and  protracted  litigation,  presented 
evidences  of  great  impairment  of  mind.  The  first 
symptom  noticed  was  the  habit  of  extreme  abstraction, 
which  was  most  unusual  in  him.  ^  He  would  sit  for 
twenty  minutes  at  a  time  with  a  fixed  look,  staring  at 
vacancy.  His  bodily  health  appeared  unaffected.  He 
was  physically  vigorous,  indulged  in  active  exercise, 
and  was  able  to  take  a  prominent  part  in  athletic 
games.  His  mental  peculiarity  was  the  only  symp- 
tom which  alarmed  his  family.  He  was  subjected  to 
treatment;  but,  notwithstanding  the  prompt  and,  it  was 
hoped,  efiicient  measures  pursued,  the  disease  gradu- 
ally advanced  until  it  developed  in  all  its  intense 
and  incurable  malignity,  and  the  poor  man,  in  the 
prime  of  life,  sank  into  loathsome  and  hopeless  im- 
becility. In  this  case,  the  mind  was  not  the  subject 
of  aberration  or  delusion.  It  was  broken  down  by 
great  anxiety.  It  is  the  absence  of  everything  like 
derangement  of  the  intellect  which  gives  a  peculiarity 
to  these  cases.     Occasionally  the  patient  mistakes  the 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS    73 

wanderings  of  his  imagination  for  realities ;  but  such 
instances  form  the  exception  and  not  the  rule. 

A  distinguished  member  of  the  medical  profession 
had  been  engaged  for  many  years  in  the  anxious  and 
responsible  duties  of  an  active  professional  life.  His 
mind  gave  way.  The  first  alarming  indication  was 
the  unusual  degree  of  solicitude  he  manifested  in  re- 
ference to  the  accuracy  of  his  prescriptions,  frequently 
writing  and  rewriting  them,  repeating  questions  to 
his  patients,  and  forgetting  the  names  of  his  most  in- 
timate friends.  Conjoined  with  these  symptoms  there 
was  great  irritability  of  temper.  Before  his  friends, 
however,  noticed  these  phenomena,  there  existed  evi- 
dence of  an  overworked  mind,  clearly  indicating  the 
necessity  of  great  caution  in  the  exercise  of  its 
powers. 

A  gentleman,  aged  twenty-five,  who  had  exposed 
himself  to  intense  mental  application  for  a  period  of 
twelve  months,  with  the  view  of  taking  honours  at 
one  of  our  universities,  was  noticed  one  day  to  mani- 
fest an  extraordinary  degree  of  risibility.  He  burst 
into  a  fit  of  laughter  in  the  presence  of  a  number  of 
college  friends,  nothing  previously  having  been  said 
to  excite  anything  like  pleasantry  or  merriment.  The 
fact  was  noticed  by  one  of  his  most  intimate  as- 
sociates, and  caused  some  anxiety.  He  subsequently 
became  depressed  and  sullen,  taking  little  notice  of 
anything.  He  was  placed  under  treatment,  and 
finally  confined  in  an  asylum.  The  symptoms  of 
depression,  conjoined  with  extreme  feebleness  of  in- 
tellect, continued  for  some  years  before  any  symptom 
resembling  paralysis  presented  itself.  The  disease 
then  exhibited  itself  in  full  maturity,  and  he  became 


74  MAD  HUMANITY 

as  helpless  as  a  child.  In  this  case  we  perceive  the 
commencement  of  the  disease  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-five,  the  result  of  undue  taxation  of  the  powers 
of  the  mind.  It  may  be  a  question  whether  the 
softening,  which  subsequently  manifested  unequivocal 
signs  of  its  presence,  existed  at  that  period  of  life. 

Moral  Insanity. — This  is  one  of  the  most  compli- 
cated varieties  of  mental  disorder  that  we  have  to  deal 
with.  It  is  frequently  seen  in  children,  especially  in 
those  of  a  precocious  nature,  or  when  at  the  age  of 
puberty.  It  is  very  difficult  to  manage,  and  friends 
rarely  detect,  or  admit  its  existence,  until  some  overt 
act  brings  the  case  conspicuously  before  their  eyes. 
Ungovernable  temper  is  often  seen ;  unreasonable 
behaviour,  impulsive  desires  or  emotions,  vicious  con- 
duct, unnatural  cruelty,  are  present,  as  premonitory 
symptoms,  or  even  after  the  disease  has  advanced. 
The  reasoning  powers,  judgment,  and  ordinary  mental 
symptoms  remain  intact,  at  first,  as  a  rule.  As  the 
disease  advances,  all  proper  respect  for  morality 
vanishes,  and  a  total  disregard  for  all  that  is  proper 
or  right  in  the  eyes  of  society  become  misinterpreted 
and  misplaced.  Acts  are  committed  which  no  one 
would  have  been  guilty  of,  unless  destitute  of  all 
ordinary  moral  feeling  and  sense,  or  ignorant  of  what 
is  common  to  the  usages  of  society.  There  is  a 
morbid  impulse  to  extravagant  or  mischievous  acts, 
without  any  positive  delusion.  Nearly  all  the  acts 
committed  by  those  who  are  said  to  be  "  morally 
insane  "  are  of  this  impulsive  character.  Eeligion  is 
entirely  disregarded  and  ignored,  and  is  held  up  by 
persons  so  afflicted  to  laughter  and  ridicule.  Excesses 
are  indulged  in  of  varied  description,  and  the  intricate 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS   75 

question  for  the  physician  to  decide  is  whether  he 
has  to  deal  with  a  responsible  individual,  or  one  un- 
accountable for  his  actions,  should  any  crime  be 
committed. 

Homicidal  and  suicidal  insanity  are  two  of  the 
most  dangerous  and  obstinate  forms  of  mental 
disorder  which  come  under  the  observation  of  the 
psychologist.  Many  unfortunate  persons  appear  in 
the  criminal  dock  on  a  charge  of  murder,  when  the 
act  has  been  done  whilst  under  some  morbid  idea 
which  is  generally  monomaniac  in  its  nature.  The 
desire  to  destroy  life,  or  to  commit  suicide,  is  so  keen 
when  it  exists  as  a  monomania,  that  sometimes  a 
fearful  mental  struggle  takes  place  to  endeavour  to 
conquer  the  impulse.  Sometimes  it  yields  to  treat- 
ment, and  the  idea  vanishes,  whilst  at  other  times  it 
is  so  persistent  in  its  nature  that  a  crime  is  committed 
before  the  immediate  friends  recognise  anything 
morbid,  or  have  gained  sufficient  time  to  take  measures 
to  prevent  a  possible  catastrophe  from  happening. 

It  has  been  stated  by  authorities  that  suicidal 
insanity  is  curable,  whilst  homicidal  is  not  so.  This 
cannot,  however,  be  given  as  a  principle.  Suicidal 
insanity  is  generally  associated  with  that  form  of 
mental  disorder  which  I  have  described  as  melan- 
cholia. When  this  disease  is  cured,  so  will  the 
desire  to  commit  self-destruction  pass  away.  Homi- 
cidal insanity,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not  connected 
with  any  special  type  of  mental  aberration ;  it  may 
be  found  in  any  of  the  existing  varieties.  It  is 
generally  associated  with  monomania.  The  insanity 
here  is  often  of  so  superficial  a  kind  that  it  is  most 
difficult  of  detection,  the  intellectual  powers  remain- 


76  MAD  HUMANITY 

ing  seemingly  intact  throughout  the  disease.  Persons 
afflicted  are  liable  to  sudden  paroxysms  of  mental  ex- 
citement and  murderous  desire.  No  reason  can,  as  a 
rule,  be  detected  for  the  perpetration  of  the  deed,  and 
the  crime  often  is  quite  motiveless.  Many  homicidal 
lunatics  destroy  the  lives  of  those  whom  they  love 
nearest  and  dearest.  Some  victims  to  this  homicidal 
tendency  are  quiet,  morose,  and  gloomy  in  their 
nature.  They  belong  to  a  most  dangerous  class  of 
humanity,  and  but  too  often  it  happens  that  their 
real  condition  is  not  detected  until  some  crime  has 
been  committed,  which  brings  their  actions  under  the 
immediate  attention  of  the  authorities.  Homicidal 
and  suicidal  insanity  are  rapidly  increasing,  but  no 
assignable  cause  can  be  given.  Both  types  belong  to 
moral  insanity. 

A  boy,  age  nineteen,  had  rambling,  incoherent 
conversation,  was  excitable,  infirm  of  purpose,  and  was 
constantly  running  away  from  home  for  no  reason,  and 
unable  to  concentrate  his  mind,  or  in  any  way  control 
himself.  He  was  very  violent,  smashing  things,  getting 
on  railway  engines,  and  going  long  journeys  on  false 
pretences  to  such  an  extent  that  the  railway  companies 
were  all  warned  of  his  behaviour.  The  various 
schools  in  which  he  had  been  declined  to  keep  him 
in  consequence  of  his  behaviour  and  conduct. 

A  boy,  age  twenty,  used  horrible  language,  com- 
mitted acts  of  cruelty,  threatened  his  mother  with 
violence,  and  at  times  even  to  poison  her.  Declined 
to  do  any  work  or  occupy  himself  in  anything.  Said 
every  one  was  plotting  against  him,  remained  in  the 
house  all  day ;  very  irritable,  suspicious,  and  listening 
at  the  door,  and  was  generally  contemplating  mischief. 


Imbecility, 


Mental  Weakxes 


.  1^  i,  5. 

There  is  not  much  difference  between  imbecility  and  what  is  understood  as  weak-mindedness, 
Avhich  is  generally  associated  with  moral  insanity,  it  is  only  one  of  degree  ;  the  foreign 
authorities  recognise  the  latter  as  a  distinct  complaint,  under  the  term  "Insuffisance." 
We  have  now  power  in  England  to  protect  the  property  of  such  cases,  whilst  not 
interfering  with  the  liberty  of  the  subject,  but  this  has  only  been  so  recently. 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS    77 

One  uncle  was  an  idiot.  He  ultimately  carried  out 
his  threat,  struck  his  mother  and  became  very  violent. 
His  conduct  became  so  strange  and  his  language  so 
abusive,  that  precautionary  measures  had  to  be  taken. 
A  boy,  age  fifteen,  one  of  twins  ;  always  trouble- 
some from  birth,  and  had  been  stealing  things  for  some 
time,  which  he  said  were  given  to  him.  Very  irritable, 
stubborn,  obstinate,  and  untruthful.  He  was  one  of 
eight ;  all  well  but  himself.      Chronic  case. 

Kleptomania 

Kleptomania  is  a  form  of  moral  insanity  well 
recognised  at  the  present  day.  Those  who  suffer 
from  it  have  a  sudden  impulse  to  steal,  and  carefully 
conceal  what  they  have  taken  from  others.  These 
individuals  are  found  not  only  in  asylums,  but  outside. 
Kleptomaniacs  in  asylums  steal  from  their  fellow- 
patients  things  which  they  cannot  possibly  make  use 
of,  from  the  very  force  of  circumstances  and  habit. 
It  is  much  more  common  in  women  than  in  men ;  it 
is  rarely  seen  in  the  latter  sex,  except  in  school-boys, 
when  it  is  of  frequent  occurrence.  The  reason  that 
it  is  more  often  found  in  women  than  in  men  is  the 
fact  that  the  former  are  more  subject  to  attacks  of 
hysteria,  and  such  subjects  are  very  liable  to  paroxysms 
of  kleptomania,  as  w^ell  as  to  other  forms  of  moral 
insanity.  The  victims  of  this  complaint  move  in 
good  society,  and  generally,  at  the  time  the  crime  is 
committed,  they  have  sufficient  money  to  purchase 
the  articles  they  have  stolen.  With  every  luxury  and 
plenty  of  money  to  satisfy  every  fancy,  the  impulse 
to  steal  seizes  them  with  such  an  irresistible  grasp  that 


78  MAD  HUMANITY 

they  find  it  a  x^liysical  impossibility  to  withstand  the 
innate  desire ;  it  is  quite  impossible  for  them  to  over- 
come the  impulse  which  may  eventually  land  them 
in  the  dock.  I  have  known  a  woman  who  laid  her 
hands  on  every  umbrella  that  came  within  her  reach. 
She  had  many  of  these  in  her  house,  but  never  used 
them,  notwithstanding  the  vagaries  of  the  British 
climate.  The  average  kleptomaniac  is  generally  both 
intelligent  and  truthful;  there  is  simply  the  one 
failing,  whilst  in  all  other  respects  she  behaves  as 
the  law-abiding  citizen.  Kleptomania  is  not  generally 
premeditated ;  the  crime  is  purely  impulsive,  and  its 
consequences  are  never  realised  at  the  time,  though, 
strangely  enough,  after  the  act  the  kleptomaniac  is 
fully  aware  of  the  crime  that  she  has  been  guilty  of. 
Of  course  sometimes  there  is  a  good  deal  of  method 
in  kleptomania,  but  there  is  generally  method  and 
cunning  in  mad  people ;  this  is  the  reason  why  we 
find  capacious  pockets  in  the  clothing  of  kleptomaniacs. 
The  disease  is  often  associated  with  physical  weakness 
and  disorder  of  the  nervous  system,  besides  hysteria, 
which  I  have  already  mentioned.  There  is  also  no 
doubt  about  its  being  hereditary  in  the  same  way  as 
ordinary  crime  is.  It  is  a  form  of  moral  insanity,  and 
a  person  may  be  very  wealthy,  but  not  extravagant, 
and  yet  she  will  hide  comparatively  worthless  pieces 
of  silk,  and  even  bread  from  the  table.  I  have  often 
found  kleptomania  existing  in  persons  with  abnormal 
conformations  of  the  head,  accompanied  by  weakness 
of  intellect.  The  rickety,  scrofulous,  and  strumous 
individuals  often  exhibit  such  propensities.  Authorities 
agree  with  me  in  stating  that  many  maniacs,  who  in 
their  lucid  intervals  are  justly  considered  models  of 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  79 

probity,  cannot  refrain  from  stealing  and  cheating. 
Kleptomania  rarely  occm^s  before  the  age  of  adolescence, 
except  in  persons  who  are  absolutely  imbecile  or 
insane  on  the  surface.  It  has  been  said  that  klepto- 
maniacs are  conscious  of  what  they  are  doing,  and 
that  they  would  be  punished  in  consequence ;  but  I 
think  the  victim  of  the  complaint  is  but  very  im- 
perfectly conscious  of  the  act,  or  its  gravity.  It  is  a 
most  difficult  thing  to  distinguish  between  a  real 
thief  and  a  kleptomaniac.  Speaking  generally,  every 
case  must  be  judged  on  its  merits,  and  requires  careful 
investigation,  it  is  a  disputed  point  often  between 
lawyers  and  doctors  in  discriminating  on  such  matters  ; 
but  I  think,  speaking  generally,  the  following  indica- 
tions ought  to  be  carefully  taken  into  considera- 
tion : — 

1.  Whether  there  is  any  hereditary  mischief  in  the 
family,  especially  relating  to  a  similar  offence  ? 

2.  The  antecedents  and  history  of  the  person. 

3.  The  nature  of  the  theft,  for  frequently  the 
absurdity  of  the  thing  stolen  will  be  valuable  as 
evidence  of  the  mental  condition. 

4.  The  existence  of  epileptic  fits. 

5.  Presence  or  absence  of  delusions,  hallucinations, 
or  illusions. 

6.  The  general  mental  condition  of  the  individual, 
whether  excited  or  depressed,  whether  of  a  quiet  and 
moody  disposition,  or  of  a  jealous  or  suspicious  nature, 
whether  liable  to  acts  of  extravagance  ?  Whether  the 
feelings  and  thoughts  are  so  disordered  as  to  incapaci- 
tate from  the  ordinary  vocations  of  life  ? 

7.  Whether  there  is  any  hereditary  insanity  in 
the  family,  and  if  so,  as  to  its  nature  ? 


80  MAD  HUMANITY 

8.  Whether  there  are  any  blind  impulses,  which 
can  be  either  regulated  or  controlled  ? 

All  these  must  be  carefully  inquired  into,  and,  as 
I  have  said  before,  that,  inasmuch  as  hereditary  mad- 
ness plays  a  conspicuous  part  in  kleptomania  as  well 
as  in  other  forms  of  mental  disorder,  much  importance 
must  be  given  to  its  consideration. 

Feigned  Madness.  —  Having  thus  described  the 
various  symptoms  of  real  madness,  I  propose  now  to 
consider  a  most  important  feature,  the  diagnosis  of 
true  mental  disease  from  feigned  madness.  We  can 
only  detect  this  in  some  cases  after  great  experience 
and  knowledge  of  the  speciality.  The  feigner  of  in- 
sanity has  always  a  tendency  to  exaggerate  his 
symptoms.  He  will  overact  his  part,  especially  when 
he  is  suspicious  that  he  is  being  watched.  He  will 
try  to  appear  worse  than  he  can  possibly  be  from  the 
nature  of  his  complaint,  and  there  will  be  a  total 
absence  of  all  bodily  illness. 

The  various  forms  of  mental  disorders  which  can 
be  feigned  are  acute  mania,  dementia,  monomania,  and 
melancholia.  With  regard  to  the  first  of  these,  mania, 
although  this  may  be  simulated,  it  is  a  difficult  thing 
to  impose  upon  those  acquainted  with  the  disease.  It 
is  a  physical  impossibility  for  a  person  of  sound  mind 
to  present  the  continual  watchfulness,  excitement,  or 
resistance,  seen  in  the  true  complaint,  or  to  combat 
against  the  influence  of  the  remedies.  In  most  cases 
of  true  mania  we  have  certain  premonitory  indications 
associated  with  and  accompanying  it — disorders  of  the 
digestive  functions,  headache,  sleeplessness,  a  peculiar 
form  of  raving,  all  of  which  are  absent  with  the 
simulator.       One    important    characteristic    in    true 


MADNESS:  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS 


81 


mania  is  the  absence  of  all  feelings  of  hunger  and 
thirst,  and  a  want  of  all  sense  of  decency  and  cleanli- 
ness, which  cannot  be  feigned  or  assumed  for  any 
length  of  time. 

Public  opinion  associates  mania  with  violent  ravin rr, 
together  with  incoherency  of  ideas,  not  recognising 
the  other  indications  I  have  just  alluded  to,  which 
are  generally  found  in  true  cases  of  mania,  and  an 
absence  of  which  enables  those  conversant  with  the 
complaint  to  rapidly  detect  the  shammer. 

A  lunatic,  though  also  talking  in  an  irrational 
manner,  will  nevertheless  to  a  certain  extent  be  in- 
telligible. Those  intimately  associated  with  him  will 
distinguish  his  meaning  and  what  he  wishes  to  infer. 
The  history  of  the  patient  and  his  antecedents  will 
also  very  materially  assist  our  diagnosis.  Can  we 
trace  any  cause  for  this  sudden  lunacy  ?  Has  the 
patient  been  subject  to  any  worry  or  unnecessary  ex- 
citement of  late?  Are  there  any  family  troubles? 
Can  any  possible  assignable  reason  be  given  for  this 
outburst  of  madness,  in  one  who  has  generally  been 
regarded  as  a  rational  being  ?  Can  any  explanation 
be  given  why  it  should  benefit  him  to  sham  madness  ? 
All  these  queries  should  be  carefully  considered. 

The  physical  endurance  required  to  enable  a  sane 
man  to  portray  the  violence  and  ravings  of  acute 
maniacal  excitement  is  so  excessive,  and  the  ex- 
haustion so  great,  that  it  is  a  moral  impossibility  to 
keep  up  this  deception  for  any  length  of  time.  The 
feigner  sinks  from  sheer  muscular  exertion,  and  the 
deceit  is  discovered.  A  real  maniac,  when  excited 
and  violent,  is  not,  apparently,  so  affected.  The 
shouting,  struggling,  and  violence  in  his  behaviour  do 

G 


82  MAD  HUMAXITY 

not  so  influence  him.  He  rarely  appears  exhausted. 
The  reaction  following  the  violence  of  feigned  lunacy 
must  end  in  sleep,  the  individual  being  unable  to  keep 
up  the  deception  during  the  night,  while  sheer  ex- 
haustion compels  him  to  fall  asleep.  The  real  maniac 
continues  his  ravings  during  many  days  and  many 
nights,  and  seems  possessed  of  abnormal  powers  of  en- 
durance, the  restless  nights  not  causing  any  material 
difference  in  his  condition,  or  diminution  in  his 
strength.  The  feigner  usually  imagines  that  he  must 
naturally  be  violent  and  excited,  so  as  to  act  his  part. 
He  cannot  realise  any  other  form  of  insanity  apart 
from  this  violent  type.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that 
nearly  every  well-known  instance  of  feigned  insanity 
has  been  of  this  character.  It  is  easy  to  imitate,  and 
is,  apparently,  in  the  eyes  of  the  individual,  evident 
and  convincing,  and  the  one  most  likely  to  effect  the 
purpose  for  which  the  feigning  is  required. 

Dementia  can  be  more  easily  feigned  than  mania. 
By  this  I  include  every  variety  of  chronic  insanity  as 
distinguished  from  acute  mania. 

Monomania,  the  chief  characteristics  of  which,  as 
I  have  previously  stated,  are  the  presence  of  a  false 
idea  or  hallucination,  might  with  great  ease  be  simu- 
lated. It  is  with  such  cases  that  the  medical  jurist 
has  so  frequently  to  deal  in  cases  of  crime.  The  most 
marked  distinction  between  real  and  feigned  cases  of 
monomania  is  the  condition  of  the  power  of  reasoning. 
A  real  monomaniac  cannot  be  reasoned  out  of  his 
Mse  ideas,  in  maintaining  which  he  will  set  all  tlie 
principles  of  logic  at  defiance,  which  the  impostor 
would  not,  from  a  fear  of  discovery,  venture  to  do. 

I  will  now  pass  on  to  consider  briefly  the  means  to 


MADNESS:   SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  83 

be  adopted  to  detect  this  deception.  Great  caution 
and  discrimination  must  be  used  to  prevent  a  possi- 
bility of  suspicion  arising  in  the  individual  we  are 
examining.  It  will  be  necessary  sometimes  to  suggest 
some  severe  method  of  treatment,  or  even  of  violence, 
or  punishment,  this  threat  being  made  in  the 
presence  or  hearing  of  the  individual.  The  actual 
cautery  has  been  used  to  effect  this  purpose.  The 
insane  have  an  extraordinary  power  of  enduring 
pain,  not  so  impostors.  Chloroform,  by  inhalation,  or 
the  administration  of  powerful  sedatives  or  narcotics, 
can  sometimes  be  tried  with  safety,  and  with  success. 
The  conduct  and  general  behaviour  should  be  assidu- 
ously watched  by  trustworthy  and  skilled  attendants, 
during  the  day  and  also  at  night.  This  should  be 
done  regularly,  relays  of  attendants  being  kept  for 
the  purpose.  If  the  attack  is  not  the  ordinary 
maniacal  type,  and  there  is  absence  of  the  violent 
symptoms,  we  must  endeavour,  whilst  in  conversation, 
to  throw  him  off  his  guard,  and  form  our  opinion  from 
a  comparison  with  cases  of  real  lunacy  of  a  similar 
description.  An  insane  person  will  often  try  and 
hide  his  delusive  ideas,  whereas  a  shammer  will  force 
them  upon  us.  One  of  the  most  important  proofs  is 
the  absence  of  any  motive  for  the  assumption  of  a 
complaint  which  is  regarded  with  feelings  of  horror 
and  dismay  by  humanity  in  general. 

A  confirmed  miser  is  considered  eccentric.  We 
occasionally  meet  persons  of  this  description  who 
hoard  up  their  treasures,  and  deny  themselves  and 
their  families  the  ordinary  necessaries  of  life.  Their 
conduct  is  reprehensible  in  the  highest  degree ;  they 
are  not  mad,  but  are  ruled  by  one  predominant  passion, 


84  MAD  HUMANITY 

that  of  gain,  which  is  a  vice,  not  a  madness,  and  must 
be  treated  as  such. 

The  detection  of  feigned  madness  is  a  very  im- 
portant one,  for  although  the  general  rules  are  suffi- 
ciently familiar  to  all,  the  difficulties  are  sometimes 
very  great.  I  will  give  two  or  three  cases  as 
illustration  : 

A  young  criminal  was  placed  in  a  prison,  and  to 
avoid  punishment  feigned  madness ;  he  declined  to 
work,  but  danced  about  his  cell,  sang  unconnected 
words  and  melodies,  and  kept  up  a  perpetual  humming 
and  growling  to  himself.  He  put  on  a  fixed  and 
stupid  stare  when  any  one  entered  his  cell,  and  looked 
only  by  stealth  at  visitors,  chiefly  fixing  his  eyes  on 
the  wall  or  ground.  To  any  questions  he  gave  either 
no  answer,  or  a  determinedly  incorrect  one,  thus : 
"  How  many  days  are  there  in  the  week  ?  "  A.  "  Ten." 
When  asked,  "  Do  you  know  who  you  are  ? "  he 
answered  that  he  did  not  know  the  questioner,  and 
had  never  seen  him.  On  being  pressed  to  say  who 
he  was,  he  said,  "  A  man."  He  would  not  recognise 
any  of  his  daily  associates.  The  simulation  was  too 
plain  to  admit  of  doubt ;  and  finding  that  it  availed 
him  nothing,  he  shortly  relinquished  it. 

A  young  married  man,  twenty-seven  years  of  age, 
was  accused  of  perjury.  After  he  had  been  two 
months  in  prison  a  complete  change  in  his  conduct 
occurred  ;  he  declined  to  answer  questions,  or  answered 
them  vaguely ;  during  the  day  he  was  apparently 
asleep  on  his  bed,  and  suddenly  he  would  jump  up 
and  rush  about  his  cell  screaming,  and  begging  that 
he  might  be  set  at  liberty,  as  his  dying  mother  was 
calling  him.     Upon  the  warder  entering  his  cell  with 


MADNESS :  SYMPTOMS,  VARIETIES,  CHARACTERISTICS  85 

a  li^ht  he  would  shout  out  "  Fire ! "  He  was  con- 
sidered  msane  and  sent  to  an  asylum.  He  was 
ultimately  found  to  be  shamming.  Whilst  in  the 
asylum  he  apparently  could  not  give  his  name,  or 
where  he  lived,  or  how  old  he  was,  but  he  said  that 
he  had  got  into  prison  in  consequence  of  breaking  a 
gold  chest  open  with  his  hands.  He  did  not  know 
how  many  brothers  and  sisters  he  had,  and  he  always 
gave  false  replies  as  to  what  he  had  eaten.  Being 
convinced  of  his  simulation,  inducement  was  made  to 
get  him  to  confess,  but  he  declined.  One  of  the  chief 
reasons  that  led  one  to  conclude  that  the  assumption 
was  correct  was  in  getting  him  to  add  or  multiply 
certain  figures,  when  his  varying  results  differed 
materially.  The  case  was  reported  to  the  authorities, 
and  on  the  strength  of  the  opinions  expressed  he  was 
sentenced  to  two  years'  hard  labour,  and  on  the  very 
day  of  this  sentence  there  ceased  his  assumption  of 
madness,  and  he  was  perfectly  sane. 

A  woman  bought  a  house,  and,  being  desirous  of 
repudiating  her  bargain,  in  order  to  set  aside  the  sale, 
she  feigned  madness.  Three  experts  were  appointed 
to  examine  her  mental  condition ;  she  was  a  fine  old 
lady,  partly  blind  from  cataract ;  her  features  ex- 
pressed indifference,  her  eyes  were  cast  down,  but 
under  all  this  there  was  a  certain  feeling  of  inquietude 
and  unrest.  The  strangeness  of  her  mental  condition 
was  apparently  with  reference  to  figures.  The  experts 
had  been  informed  that  she  could  neither  read  nor 
write;  she  counted  1,  2,  4,  6,  7,  8,  10,  11,  13,  18; 
she  was  asked  how  many  fingers  she  had  on  each 
hand,  her  answer  was  "  four."  She  said  twice  two 
was  six ;    that  she  had  nine  daughters  whereas  she 


86  MAD  HUMANITY 

had  seven  ;  she  said  her  daughter's  name  was  Babette 
instead  of  Catherine ;  she  did  not  know  the  year,  and 
apparently  knew  nothing  of  the  house  she  had  bought. 
In  reply  to  this  latter  question  she  said,  "  I  have 
already  a  house,  I  should  not  buy  another  " ;  she  con- 
tinued, "  Some  people  wish  to  buy  my  house."  She 
was  asked  whether  she  knew  the  ten  commandments, 
and  what  was  the  first  ?  Her  reply  being,  "  I  am  the 
Lord  thy  God,  the  second  is  the  same,  and  the  third  I 
do  not  know,  the  fourth  is  the  same,  and  the  fifth  is 
Thou  shalt  not  honour  thy  father  and  mother."  The 
medical  men,  convinced  of  her  dissembling,  notwith- 
standing the  testimony  of  fourteen  witnesses,  two  of 
them  medical,  reported  their  opinion  to  the  authorities ; 
and  directly  after,  her  pretence  of  insanity  ceased,  and 
she  was  tried  for  perjury  and  convicted. 

With  regard  to  the  two  last  cases  they  evidently 
believed  that  everything  about  them  must  be  perfectly 
different  from  other  individuals ;  that  they  must  not 
know  any  one,  that  they  must  not  write,  read,  or  count 
correctly.  This  is  very  common  amongst  those  who 
assimilate  insanity,  and  it  is  on  this  account  that 
ignorant  individuals  fail  to  recognise  real  mental 
disorder  unless  the  symptoms  be  of  an  acute  nature ; 
in  speaking  of  one  in  such  a  condition,  they  say  that 
he  cannot  be  insane,  he  knows  everyone  and  conducts 
himself  as  a  man  of  understanding ;  they  conceive 
that  an  evil  spirit  must  enter  into  all  the  insane, 
changing  every  act  and  feeling  of  his  life.  Where 
they  see  thought,  reflection,  and  a  knowledge  of  right 
and  wrong,  they  think  that  no  insanity  can  exist ; 
whereas  all  tliese  are  seldom  wanting  in  the  insane, 
and  they  are  frequently  very  highly  developed. 


CHAPTEE    IV 

HANDWEITING    OF    THE    INSANE 

I  NOW  propose  to  give  a  few  specimens  of  handwriting 
obtained   by   me   from    inmates   of   lunatic    asylums. 
The  style  of  writing  varies  with  the  complaint  from 
which  they  suffer.      The  substance  of  each  individual 
production  must  be  taken  into  consideration  together 
with  the  writing  itself,  as  much  is  learnt  from  this. 
I  recollect  many  years  ago  being  present  at  a  Lunacy 
Commission,   held   before    the    late    Samuel    Warren, 
Master  in  Lunacy.     To  prove  the  sanity  of  the  alleged 
lunatic,  letters   of  a  very  coherent   description  were 
produced  in  court.     Much  stress  was  laid  by  counsel 
on  this  point.      The  judge,   however,  stated,  and  no 
doubt  correctly  too,  that  the  fact  of  a  person,  whose 
mental  state  was  under  consideration,  writing  a  sane 
letter,  was  no  possible  proof  of  his  sanity ;  yet  if,  on 
the  other   hand,  such   an   individual,   presumably  of 
sound  mind,  writes  an  insane  epistle,  this  would  be 
strong,  and  in  some  instances  convincing,  evidence  of 
his  unsoundness  of  mind.      It  is  well  to  recollect  this 
judicial  ruling,  from  the  fact  that  in  private  practice, 
when    there   is   contradictory    testimony   of  a   man's 
mental    state,    there    are    those   who    brin^    forward 


88  MAD  HUMANITY 

apparently  sane  letters  written  by  him  as  conclusive 
evidence  of  the  sanity.  There  are  many  certified 
lunatics  capable  of  writing  any  amount  of  sane 
rational  letters,  and  if  their  mental  state  was  to  be 
diagnosed  by  what  they  write,  it  would  be  a  danger- 
ous practice.  The  question  is  of  sufficient  importance 
for  me  to  allude  to  it  previous  to  presenting  the 
specimens  of  handwriting,  especially  as  counsel  in  a 
case  where  a  will  is  dis^Duted,  or  in  any  similar 
matter  in  which  the  mental  condition  is  under  con- 
sideration, will  often  tell  the  jury  that,  inasmuch  as 
their  client  has  written  a  sane  letter,  he  must  there- 
fore be  regarded  as  a  person  of  sound  mind  and  testa- 
mentary disposition,  a  most  monstrous  and  unjust 
statement,  but  often  made  to  obtain  a  verdict,  and 
successfully  too. 

Acute  Mania.  —  It  is  a  most  difficult  thing  to 
obtain  any  specimens  of  the  handwriting  of  patients 
suffering  from  acute  mania,  from  the  fact  that  the 
mind  is  in  a  constant  state  of  mental  excitement, 
and  the  ravings  are  so  continuous  that  there  is  rarely, 
if  ever,  a  quiet  moment  in  which  they  can  compose 
themselves.  The  specimens  1,  2,  and  3  have  been 
obtained  after  a  considerable  amount  of  difficulty. 
The  first  is  written  by  a  patient  suffering  from  mental 
exaltation  combined  with  mania ;  there  is  nothing  of 
a  marked  character  to  be  seen  here.  The  second  is 
written  by  a  patient  suffering  from  recurrent  mania, 
and  was  written  whilst  actually  in  an  attack  of  acute 
maniacal  ravings.  The  writing  is  thick,  and  wTitten 
evidently  whilst  in  an  excited  condition,  and  is  of 
interest  from  the  fact,  previously  mentioned,  under 
the  conditions  in  which  it  was  penned.      In  the  third 


ACUTE  MANIA       "  89 


^-^jU  ^n^  PiuM  -ie  lU  lM/^kMiM>M.o6 


^^CtlA--  ^(^hj^  '6^tM^  t^yCPi/dr  v\ 


ea»-^ 


JIELAKCHOLIA  91 


MELANCHOLIA  93 


9 


/ 


MELANCHOLIA  95 


y^.^^^/^ixL  .^  2  4> 


14 


^{n^.  n^^Ja^    \v^Jj^^r^  AujAyf-,  S-  tfy^-.J^^^^ 


fi^-r^  /^^  ^^..^.^ 


'^^^  ••    (^Jr^jfjUti^-A. 


HANDWRITING  OF  THE  INSANE  97 

specimen  the  writing  is  thin,  and  the  peculiar  long 
lines  over  the  letters  are  characteristic  of  the  mental 
excitement  during  which  it  was  written,  the  lines  are 
close,  and   nearly  run    into   each   other,  also   charac- 
teristic.     The  epistle  refers  to  some  imaginary  wrong, 
and  it   was   addressed  to   the   editor   of  one   of   th^e 
evening  papers  asking  for  the  grievance  to  be  properly 
ventilated,  not  an  unusual  thing  for  the  insane  to  do. 
Melancholia.— ThQYQ  is  nothing  special  to  be  chron- 
icled in  the  actual  handwriting  of  melancholic  patients. 
When  they  are  asked  to  write  they  generaUy  take 
much  time  in  doing  so,  and  frequently  they  will,  in 
writing  a  letter  to  their  friends,  occupy  half  an  hour 
between  each  word  with  their  pen  hanging  over  the 
paper  ready  to  write,  but  evidently  not  having  suffi- 
cient mental  concentration   to   do  so.     Most   melan- 
cholies suffer   from    some  sort  of  disappointed   hope 
either  imaginary  or  real,  and  generally  the  substance' 
of  what  they  write  indicates  this.     The  writing   in 
specimens  4,  5,  6,  7,  and  8  is  weak,  and  evidently 
written  mechanically  after  a  good  deal  of  hesitation. 
The  lines  are  thin,  the  letters  uneven.     In  9,  10,  11 
and  12  the  disease  is  more  advanced,  and  becoming 
chronic  in  its  nature,  the  writing  is  weaker,  and  indi'^ 
cates  a  state  of  nervous  exhaustion,  the  words  beincr 
slightly  penned;  in  12  there  is,  in  addition  to  the 
melanchoha,    hallucinations    of    hearing,    which    are 
alluded   to   by   the   writer.     In    14   and    15   we   see 
complete   incoherency  in  the  writing,   letters  formed 
double,  the  writing  very  scratchy  and   uneven;   the 
most    acute    form    of    melancholia    existed    in    these 
patients  at  the  time  of  writing  this. 

General  Paralysis  of  the  Insane.—TU  writing  seen 


98  MAD  HUMANITY 

in  this  complaint  is  more  characteristic  than  in  any 
other  form  of  mental  disorder.  In  the  earlier  stages 
the  words  are  often  scarcely  legible,  as  the  patient's 
mind  is  in  such  a  state  of  abnormal  mental  excite- 
ment, that  he  takes  but  little  care  in  what  he  is 
writing.  Many  of  the  lines  are  unintelligible,  but 
this  makes  no  difference  to  him,  who  never  takes  the 
trouble  to  read  what  he  has  previously  written,  and 
places  it  straightway  into  an  envelope  to  send  off. 
Some  of  the  lines  are  very  uneven,  whilst  the  sub- 
stance of  the  composition  is  generally  incoherent,  and 
bears  reference  to  the  state  of  mind  of  the  writer. 
Specimens  16  and  17  are  the  production  of  a  patient 
in  a  very  early  stage  of  this  malady.  He  is  writing 
a  letter  from  the  asylum  in  w^hich  he  is  incarcerated, 
offering  to  contribute  £25,000,  and  subsequently 
£20,000,  to  improve  the  establishment  in  which  he 
now  is.  He  is  in  the  stage  of  general  mental  exalta- 
tion. This  letter  is  in  itself  a  good  diagnostic  indica- 
tion of  the  malady  from  which  he  is  suffering.  Nos. 
18  and  19  show  the  writing  of  a  patient  who  is  even 
in  an  earlier  stage  than  the  one  previously  given. 
The  peculiarity  of  the  writing  is  not  so  evident,  the 
letters  are,  however,  of  a  grandiose  character,  so  fre- 
quently seen,  whilst  it  is  addressed  to  some  public 
personage  so  often  the  case.  That  marked  20  is  a 
typical  example  of  general  incoherency.  Here  are 
seen  grandiose  letters,  the  frequent  underlining  of 
words.  This  latter  is  often  seen  in  cases  of  general 
paralysis  of  the  insane,  and  I  might  say  that  the 
frequent  underlining  of  words  and  lines  by  any  ordin- 
ary letter -writer  is  a  symptom  of,  in  some  case, 
"  obscure  "  nervous  affection.     I  always  regard,  with 


GENERAL  PARALYSIS  OF  THE  INSANE  99 


^"^'^ /T"^'^ -^'\^  


2^ 


2£ 


DEMENTIA  lOl 


27 

^6 


i^4^oi.        Soy^-^-^J       'X77\..^ 


28 


i^i^tXAf 


DEMENTIA  103 


^  £, 


29     ^  _^  ^ 


^T-xU^^ 


y^K^iu^<c^^'>Ly 


¥  ^ 


v/        O.uw  c^  ^#^^0    Oc-*--Z>         ^rv<-a^      ^icc^u,^ 


DEMENTIA  105 


/^^^-^^-^--^     ^i^Ts^:;?^ 


'^^Uxc 


^       I        cAca^   J±CrLU    Oil 


HANDWRITING  OF  THE  INSANE  107 

a  certain  amount  of  suspicion,  the  mental  condition 
of  such  an  individual.  In  21  is  seen  the  most  typical 
grandiose  letters  forming  the  name  of  Smith.  The  E 
in  England  is  certainly  of  that  nature.  In  the  speci- 
mens 22  to  26  are  marked  indications  of  advanced 
general  paralysis.  The  inability  to  write  in  a  straight 
line,  the  scratchy  nature  of  the  writing,  running  the 
words  into  each  other,  the  misplacement  of  the  words, 
the  inability  to  form  the  letters  properly,  and  ulti- 
mately the  complete  obliteration  of  the  sense  ending 
in  absolute  hieroglyphics,  is  always  seen  in  the  latter 
stage  of  the  malady.  I  might  say  that  in  24  is  seen 
the  effort  of  an  advanced  general  paralytic  to  write 
"  It  is  a  very  fine  day." 

Dementia. — The  peculiarity  of  the  writing  in  speci- 
mens 2  7  and  2  8  is  the  thickness  of  certain  words,  the 
scratchy  style  of  some  of  the  writing  indicating  the 
suppressed  condition  of  excitement  the  writer  was  in 
at  the  time ;  the  whole  production  is  characteristic  of 
a  mild  attack  of  dementia,  the  complaint  from  which 
he  suffered.  In  29  there  are  no  abnormal  indications, 
the  writing  might  have  been  penned  by  a  sane  person, 
instead  of  by  one  suffering  from  partial  dementia.  In 
30  there  is  again  seen  the  scratchy  writing,  whilst 
the  substance  of  what  is  said  indicates  the  combina- 
tion of  melancholia  with  dementia.  In  31  and  35 
are  seen  the  compositions  of  two  patients  suffering 
from  senile  dementia.  The  writing  here  is  typical, 
words  are  left  out,  the  mind  running  on  rapidly  whilst 
writing ;  the  letters  are  made  unusually  thick  and 
indistinct.  In  33  is  seen  the  stage  between  actual 
dementia  and  senile  dementia,  the  writinc?  here  is  as 
in  senile  dementia,  but  not  quite  so  advanced  in  its 


108  MAD  HUMANITY 

characteristics.  In  34  is  an  attempt  of  a  patient 
suffering  from  dementia  to  write  "  It  is  a  very  wet 
day."  The  sentence  is  peculiar  from  being  one  un- 
intelligible mass  of  strokes,  though  when  written  by 
the  patient  he  was  under  the  mental  impression  that 
he  was  writing  a  clearly-defined  sentence. 

Chronic  Lunacy. — There  are  many  forms  of  chronic 
lunacy.  Melancholia  may  end  in  it,  mania  also,  and 
any  other  form  of  acute  insanity  may  so  terminate,  and 
the  characteristics,  if  any,  would  resemble  those  of  the 
original  complaint.  It  is  one  of  the  symptoms  of 
chronic  lunacy  to  have  a  rather  free  gift  of  the  pen, 
and  for  the  epistles  to  be  not  only  very  incoherent 
and  blotty,  but  also  very  voluminous.  Whilst  in 
some  instances,  as  in  specimen  36,  the  wTiting  is 
quite  normal.  There  is  general  incoherency  in  the 
other  specimens  given  by  me,  the  writing  is  scratchy, 
irregular,  and  in  38  grandiose  with  delusions,  the 
writing  here  being  very  characteristic  of  the  com- 
plaint ;  the  lines  are  thick,  as  also  the  letters ;  there 
is  excitement  depicted,  not  only  in  the  composition 
and  in  the  way  the  letters  are  formed,  but  also  in  the 
manner  the  sentence  is  put  together.  If  more  had 
been  written,  we  should  probably  have  seen  further 
underlining  of  the  words  so  frequently  observed  in 
persons  of  excitability,  when  under  any  unusual  abnor- 
mal excitement,  and  who  are  desirous  of  airing  their 
feelings  emphatically. 

Strange  Cases. — The  writer  of  the  envelope  41  and 
the  epistle  42  in  all  probability  suffered  from  inco- 
herent mania  at  the  time.  It  was  addressed  to  me 
and  delivered  at  my  house.  It  is  difficult  to  decipher, 
though  here  and  there  a  word  may  be  made  out.      It 


CHRONIC  MADNESS 


109 


^^^^^^--^.^zzL.  ^,.Jj^:::Z-^A^  A^  ^-^_^ 


;7 


^a — ^ 


-<-^--<-^-r    #  <■*   ^g-^ 


A, 


r 


-«-c<-*-d_i. 


CHRONIC  MADNESS  m 


38 


39 


STRANGE  SPECIMENS 


113 


PARTIAL  IMBECILITY  115 

June  &  July  [29  to  n  29  monday  nso-iss]  e.th  &  7th  Months  1885 


St.  Peter.    Quarter  Sessions  begin 


1  Jtdy  WEDNESDAY  [182-1831 
Letts's  Diaries  for  1886  readr  for  Exjiort 


46 


HANDWRITING  OF  THE  INSANE  117 

is  a  typical  specimen  of  many  of  such  productions 
which  I  have  occasionally  received.  Evidently  the 
writer  was  impressed  with  the  fact  that  something 
important  was  being  communicated  to  me,  and  at  the 
time  of  writing  each  of  these  incoherent  lines  signified 
something  in  his  own  mind. 

In  43  is  the  writing  of  a  person  suffering  from 
moral  insanity,  in  which  he  imagines  that  he  is  being 
looked  at  by  strangers — a  very  common  delusion.  There 
is  nothing  abnormal  in  the  writing. 

In  44  the  production  of  a  chronic  lunatic  is  charac- 
terised by  its  extreme  neatness,  this  was  most  conspicu- 
ous in  the  patient  himself,  who  was  always  extremely 
tidy  in  his  dress,  and  in  whatever  he  did.  The  strange 
peculiarity  of  the  composition  consists  in  repeating  a 
number  of  words  beginning  with  the  same  letter  in 
each,  and  then  changing  to  another  letter.  45  is  by 
the  same  person. 

Partial  Imhecility. — The  specimen  46  here  given 
resembles  shorthand-writing  at  first  observation.  It 
is  a  page  from  the  diary  of  a  patient  who  was  under 
my  care  for  many  years,  the  whole  diary  written  in  a 
similar  way  being  in  my  possession.  The  patient  had 
a  most  active  mind,  and  was  in  no  way  under  any 
legal  restraint,  but  had  his  freedom.  He  was  very 
weak-minded,  but  never  happy  unless  he  was  occupied 
in  some  work,  but  of  what  description  it  did  not 
matter.  He  would  run  messages  so  long  as  his  atten- 
tion was  engaged.  He  had  no  idea  of  the  value  of 
money,  and  there  was  evidently  arrested  mental  power. 
At  times  he  had  slight  epileptic  attacks  of  a  few 
seconds'  duration.  He  wrote  his  diary  day  by  day, 
but  he  always  filled  up  on  the  Monday  his  diary  for 


118  MAD  HUMANITY 

Tuesday,  it  will  be  observed.  He  says,  "  I  shall  go  "  ; 
this  happened  every  day,  filling  up  what  he  was  going 
to  do,  and  completing  the  day's  doings  before  the 
actual  arrival  of  that  day.  His  mind  followed  his 
pen,  and  each  of  these  extraordinary  lines  indicated, 
to  his  intelligence,  some  sort  of  meaning.  I  often 
tried  to  get  him  to  decipher  what  he  had  written, 
but  he  was  unable  to  read  his  own  writing  one  hour 
after,  though  he  could  do  so  immediately.  The  style 
of  writing,  the  formation  of  letters,  the  general  inco- 
herency  in  production,  is  common  in  such  cases,  and 
the  specimen  is  a  good  and  characteristic  one  of  the 
complaint  to  which  I  allude. 


CHAPTEE    V 

RELIGIOUS    MADNESS 

The  world  presents  itself  before  us  in  a  twofold  aspect 
of  health  and  disease — the  sound  and  the  unsound, 
both  of  body  and  mind.  "We  are  living,  moving,  and 
acting  in  the  midst  of  this  twofold  world,  which 
imparts  to  the  scene  around  us  both  its  grandeur  and 
defects.  The  moving  panorama  appears  in  varied 
lights  and  shades  to  different  eyes.  The  statesman 
views  it  from  an  elevated  point  of  his  own ;  the  man 
of  business  and  the  man  of  pleasure,  each  of  them 
look  at  it  from  his  own  standpoint,  and  through  his 
own  particular  medium.  But  the  psychologist  sees 
it  in  its  double  aspect — the  healthy  and  the  diseased, 
the  sane  and  the  insane ;  and  discerns  in  these 
two  aspects  the  constituent  elements  of  our  daily 
existence. 

Eeligious  madness  is  by  no  means  peculiar  to 
modern  times  or  to  civilised  periods.  It  has  been 
recognised  as  a  particular  form  of  insanity  from  the 
earliest  era  of  the  world.  In  ages  of  ignorance  it 
was  regarded  as  a  divine  inspiration  or  flatus. 

It  is  the  most  formidable  species  of  insanity  there 
is ;  and  though  it  is  said  to  leave  the  rest   of  the 


120  MAD  HUMANITY 

mental  faculties  untouched,  yet  we  can  scarcely  trust 
the  integrity  of  the  mind  that  labours  under  its 
delusions. 

By  some  it  is  supposed  to  be  nothing  more  than  an 
exaggerated  sentiment  of  religion  ;  and  that  the  person 
under  its  influence  may,  by  a  sufiicient  effort  of  the 
will,  overcome  and  subdue  it.  It  cannot,  however, 
be  regarded  as  a  mere  mental  emotion  to  be  cherished 
or  discarded  at  pleasure.  No  particular  disease  can 
be  justly  said  to  give  rise  to  it,  but  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  the  perverted  sentiment  of  religion 
provokes  some  bodily  ailment,  by  its  morbid  action  on 
the  nervous  system. 

The  infatuation  usually  shows  itself  by  running 
aground  on  some  of  the  truths  or  data  acknowledged 
by  all  the  world.  The  mind  fixes  upon  a  wxll-known 
truth,  and  exaggerates  its  importance  to  the  exclusion 
of  everything  else.  The  idea  enlarges,  and  at  length 
becomes  gigantic ;  it  grows  and  increases ;  it  has  no 
context,  and  admits  of  no  relationship  with  any  other 
truth ;  it  stands  alone — it  is  a  monomania.  The 
person  so  possessed  is  a  dangerous  lunatic. 

At  its  first  accession  it  is  scarcely  discernible  ;  very 
frequently  it  is  not  so  much  as  suspected  by  those  in 
immediate  contact  with  it,  for  in  its  early  stages  it  is 
withdrawn  from  sight  by  cunning  and  reserve. 

At  various  periods  of  our  history,  religious  insanity 
prevailed  very  widely  as  an  epidemic,  and  extended 
over  large  portions  of  the  universe.  This  mental 
enthusiasm  was  usually  introduced  by  a  particular 
mind  of  great  energy,  exercising  its  influence  over 
other  minds,  that  one  mind  being  only  the  exponent 
of  other  minds  of  that  particular  epoch. 


RELIGIOUS  MADNESS  121 

During  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  large 
numbers  of  persons  were  dealt  with  by  law,  who  at 
that  time  were  living  and  acting  under  the  influence 
of  a  religious  epidemic. 

In  the  reign  of  Francis  L,  1515-47,  ten  thousand 
persons  were  either  killed  or  punished  whilst  under 
these  religious  fanaticisms.  The  victims  of  these 
public  persecutions  belonged  to  different  grades  of 
society.  The  individuals  selected  were  chiefly  wretched 
old  women,  whose  ugliness  and  eccentricities  rendered 
them  remarkable,  and  wdio  were  usually  members  of 
some  of  the  convents.  Large  masses  of  females  were 
submitted  to  the  austerities  of  these  abodes,  and 
consequently  suffered  from  perverted  religious  ideas, 
and  were  attacked  with  hysterical  symptoms.  They 
gloried  in  the  profanation  of  the  religion  they  had 
sworn  to  observe,  and  also  in  their  professed  inter- 
course with  supernatural  and  diabolical  agencies. 
Incantation  was  the  remedy  resorted  to :  priests  and 
bishops  devoted  days  and  nights  to  the  employment 
of  every  know^n  mode  of  expulsion  ;  but  instead  of 
any  good  resulting  from  their  interference,  the  disease, 
on  the  other  hand,  became  contagious  in  the  convent, 
and  frequently  epidemic  in  the  neighbourhood,  months, 
even  years,  elapsing  before  tranquillity  was  restored. 

The  women,  who  had  hitherto  lived  irreproachably, 
confessed,  whilst  under  the  influence  of  these  par- 
oxysms, to  having  perpetrated  the  greatest  atrocities 
and  enormities,  and  they  did  not  hesitate  to  accuse 
their  dearest  relatives  and  friends  as  being  the 
principal  actors  and  originators  of  these  crimes. 
Many  of  these  poor  victims  were  burned,  and  hundreds 
perished  in  consequence  of  their  own  morbid  religious 


122  MAD  HUMANITY 

ideas.  It  frequently  happened  that  those  who  were 
falsely  accused,  and  excited  by  the  religious  ceremonies 
to  which  they  were  subjected,  eventually  acknowledged 
all  the  atrocities  attributed  to  them,  and  even  the 
priests  themselves,  though  at  first  firmly  ignoring 
these  imaginary  delusions,  ultimately  became  the 
vigtims  of  these  morbid  ideas,  and  were,  so  to  speak, 
epidemically  seized. 

After  the  suppression,  at  the  time  of  the  Eeforma- 
tion,  of  what  were  then  called  the  religious  houses, 
the  insane  became  a  wandering  body,  and  were  per- 
mitted to  wander,  uncared  for  by  their  relatives,  about 
the  country  naked,  and  frequently  exposed  to  various 
forms  of  insult  and  degradation.  The  term  "  Abraham- 
men  "  was  universally  given  to  lunatics,  who  depended 
upon  the  charity  of  others  for  their  livelihood.  They 
pretended  to  be  insensible  to  all  sensation  of  pain, 
and  allowed  various  experiments  to  be  made  in  proof 
of  their  being  thus  destitute  of  bodily  anguish.  A 
writer  living  in  those  times  alleged  that  "  their  skin 
was  quite  benumbed,  and  that  they  did  not  feel  any 
inconvenience  from  punctures,  blisters,  or  setons." 

Decker,  in  the  Bellman  of  London,  alludes  to  the 
beggars  of  his  time,  who  imitated  the  "Abraham- 
men,"  in  order  to  excite  public  sympathy  and  so 
extort  money. 

It  is  impossible  to  read  the  history  of  the  irregular 
and  turbulent  conduct,  or  of  the  groundless  and  absurd 
expectations  of  most  fanatics,  without  concluding  that 
while  some  were  merely  designing  and  wicked,  others 
were  actually  influenced  either  by  a  temporary  or  a 
permanent  insanity ;  and  it  will  appear  the  less 
wonderful  that  so  many  should  become  insane  at  the 


RELIGIOUS  MADNESS  123 

same  time,  by  a  kind  of  epidemical  contagion,  when 
we  reflect  on  the  influence  of  example  and  of  any 
favourite  and  popular  notion  in  exciting  the  wildest 
and  most  outrageous  extravagances  of  a  misguided 
mob  ;  if  we  consider  how  apt  the  brain  is  to  be 
affected  by  a  constant  attention  to  one  subject,  and 
how  liable  such  attention  is  to  be  excited,  when  the 
subject  is  of  a  religious  nature,  and  is  regarded  with 
emotion  and  ardour. 

A  person  whose  religious  education  has  been 
imperfected  or  neglected,  and  whose  temperament  is 
highly  susceptible,  is  suddenly  afflicted  with  some 
domestic  grief.  For  the  first  time  his  eyes  are  opened 
to  the  vanity  of  life  ;  his  heart  is  softened ;  he  is 
directed  by  a  pious  friend  to  seek  consolation  in 
religion ;  his  conscience  is  awakened,  and  he  is  dis- 
tressed by  the  discovery  of  his  own  sinfulness  and 
shortcomings ;  grief  and  remorse  subdue  him.  The 
subject  is  all -engrossing ;  he  reads,  and  meditates. 
Sin  stands  before  him  like  a  giant ;  this  life  is  now  to 
him  as  nothing — the  next  is  everything ;  hell  gapes 
at  his  feet,  and  he  sinks  into  a  fit  of  despair  and 
gloom.  The  conscience,  once  being  alarmed,  becomes 
morbidly  sensitive,  and  the  new  convert  begins  the 
work  of  godly  reformation  by  abjuring  amusement  as 
a  sin,  and  the  world  as  a  snare.  VHe  shrinks  with 
the  greatest  horror  from  all  former  habits,  friends, 
and  associations ;  grows  taciturn  and  morose ;  and, 
withdrawing  more  and  more  from  society,  finds  him- 
self shunned,  in  just  proportion  as  he  deliberately 
shuns  others. 

The  understanding  is  weakened  and  led  astray  by 
religious  fervour  and  excitement,  when  ill-directed  an^ 


124  MAD  HUMANITY 

unreasonably  made  use  of,  and  this  may  terminate  in 
insanity  of  a  most  obstinate  character.  It  is  difficult 
at  first  to  fix  upon  any  one  isolated  fact  which  is  of 
itself  conclusive  of  a  wandering  mind  ;  the  symptoms 
are  negative  rather  than  positive;  it  is  retirement  rather 
than  overtact.  Besides,  the  popular  notions  are  so  vague 
upon  the  subject  of  religion,  that  the  world  is  prone  to 
mistake  religious  eccentricities  for  true  religion. 

The  first  deviation  of  the  mind  from  sober  reason 
towards  religious  insanity  is  so  like  an  earnest  and 
truthful  warmth  of  feeling  on  this  all -important 
theme  that  we  are  very  likely  to  be  deceived  by  its 
ingress,  and  thus  incautiously  suffer  the  enemy  to 
steal  a  long  march  upon  us  before  we  are  conscious 
of  its  proximity.  It  is  only  possible  to  arrive  at 
a  certain  conclusion  respecting  it  by  remarking 
attentively  the  ordinary  behaviour  of  the  religious 
enthusiast.  If  the  religious  fervour  tends  to  render 
the  behaviour  and  motives  of  conduct  more  circum- 
spect, sober,  and  correct  than  they  have  hitherto  been, 
we  must  conclude  that  it  is  not  insanity ;  but  if,  on 
the  contrary,  it  seizes  hold  of  new  ideas,  and  gives 
way  to  eccentric  manner  or  speech,  we  are  wont  to 
suspect  the  approach  of  mental  disorder.  But  even 
in  this  case  it  may  be  nothing  more  than  a  passing 
enthusiasm,  a  transient  paroxysm,  and  the  excitement 
of  the  brain  passes  away  without  leaving  any  of  its 
traces  behind.  But  if  hallucinations  be  evinced,  then 
there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  nature  of  the  case, 
for  there  is  scarcely  any  form  of  religious  insanity 
devoid  of  hallucinations,  spectral  illusions,  preter- 
natural voices,  and  special  revelations,  even  in  the 
very  incipient  stages. 


RELIGIOUS  MADNESS  125 

The  patient,  in  the  midst  of  imaginary  felicity, 
fancying  himself  rich,  handsome,  and  dwelling  in  a 
palace,  is  troubled  with  mournful  thoughts.  This 
state  is  followed  by  hallucinations  arising  in  connection 
with  some  painful  circumstance  in  his  past  life.  At 
this  conjuncture  nothing  is  more  remarkable  than  the 
abnormal  sentiments  and  religious  ideas  which  occur 
suddenly  in  persons  not  usually  religious.  A  lunatic 
with  exalted  mania  swears  ^nd  blasphemes  without 
the  least  respect  for  what  is  holy.  After  he  has  been 
in  this  state  for  some  time,  his  condition  is  changed ; 
he  becomes  calm,  sober,  and  sorrowful ;  he  speaks  of 
his  sins,  of  divine  mercy,  of  hell,  of  the  relation 
between  his  malady  and  religion. 

Eeligious  insanity  very  rarely  occurs  suddenly. 
It  is  a  disease,  as  I  have  before  observed,  of  slow 
growth,  but  of  persistent  and  formidable  pertinacity. 
It  incubates,  or  begins  with  suUenness,  moroseness, 
enthusiastic  piety,  and  slight  eccentricities  of,  at  first, 
an  unnoticeable  and  pardonable  description.  The 
patient  evinces  keen  instinctive  feelings,  and  often 
betrays  an  almost  unaccountable  servility,  cowardice, 
or  precipitation  upon  unexpected  occasions;  this 
nervousness  most  probably  arising  from  a  strong, 
though  morbid,  desire  of  self-preservation  from  the 
fear  of  hell,  both  on  his  own  account  and  those  in 
whom  he  is  interested. 

In  the  early  stages  of  religious  insanity  a  kind  of 
mysterious  reserve  is  maintained,  but  after  a  time, 
and  in  proportion  as  this  form  of  peculiar  mental 
aberration  maturates,  the  patient  seeks  to  force  his 
sentiments  on  others  ;  and,  if  his  notions  are  questioned 
or  rebutted,  resents  such  reception  of  them  as  a  personal 


126  MAD  HUMANITY 

insult.  From  conversation  he  proceeds  to  preaching 
and  exhortation,  often  affecting  a  miraculous  conversion. 
At  times  he  becomes  the  subject  of  ecstatic  fears,  and 
gives  way  to  extravagances  of  speech  and  behaviour ; 
the  ideas  chase  each  other  swiftly  through  the  mind ; 
but  after  a  time  this  rapidly  ceases,  and  the  ideas 
become  irregular  and  involuntary ;  and  disease  of  the 
brain  is  surely  progressing ;  there  may  be  indications 
of  softening,  atrophy,  or  inflammation.  The  con- 
junctiva is  jaundiced,  the  liver  deranged,  the  de- 
carbonisation  of  the  blood  is  impeded,  the  respiration 
oppressed,  the  right  side  of  the  heart  overloaded,  and 
cerebral  congestion  results. 

The  conscience  becomes  timid,  and  is  beset  with 
scruples.  Dangerous  ideas  next  occupy  the  patient's 
mind,  relating  to  suicide,  homicide,  infanticide,  or 
pyromania.  As  the  disease  progresses  the  ideas 
become  very  much  confused ;  he  is  restless  at  night, 
sleepless,  and  during  the  day  is  in  a  state  of  excessive 
excitement ;  at  the  same  time  a  notable  change  is 
observed  in  his  dispositions  and  manners  ;  his  appetite 
becomes  abnormal,  his  person  neglected,  and  he  is 
unable  to  fix  his  restless  thoughts  even  momentarily 
on  worldly  affairs,  however  urgent  they  may  be ;  even 
domestic  ties  and  affection  seem  to  lose  their  hold 
upon  him,  an  utter  indifference  being  evinced  for  what 
goes  on  around  him. 

In  this  stage  he  is  undoubtedly  the  victim  of 
partial  insanity ;  reason  has  not  its  fair  play ;  it  is 
not  gone ;  it  is  not  even  impoverished,  if  you  can  but 
once  break  the  charm — a  work  of  more  than  ordinary 
difficulty,  for  he  is  spell-bound  by  his  own  conscience, 
lie  will  be  rational  enough,  and  converse   upon  any 


RELIGIOUS  MADNESS  127 

other  subject  with  his  customary  sense  and  judgment, 
but  only  touch  the  tender  chord  of  religion,  and  his 
rationality  takes  flight,  leaving  him  insane  or  foolish. 

As  the  disease  progresses,  the  mental  depression 
increases ;  he  cannot  rouse  himself  from  his  torpid 
state  of  mind,  refusing  to  converse  upon  any  subject 
except  his  imaginary  wickedness.  The  delusions 
chiefly  tormenting  the  patient  have  reference  to  his 
former  life  or  business,  and  one  of  the  most  prominent 
morbid  ideas  connected  with  religious  insanity  is  that 
"  the  unpardonable  sin  "  has  been  committed,  and  that 
the  victim  of  this  delusion  is  forsaken  by  God.  The 
unhappy  believer  in  this  sad  delusion  is  generally 
reduced  to  the  utmost  extremity  of  despondency  and 
despair. 

A  wonderful  singularity  is  usually  met  with  in  the 
symptoms  associated  with  this  variety  of  mental 
unsoundness,  and  it  is  my  intention,  as  an  illustration 
of  the  subject,  to  give  an  exact  description  of  the 
symptoms,  as  given  to  me  verbatim  from  the  lips  of 
a  patient  I  have  recently  seen.  He  said :  "  I  am  the 
unhappiest  man  in  the  whole  earth ;  my  life  is  the 
gall  and  bitterness  and  bond  of  iniquity.  I  feel  to  be 
under  God's  condemnation.  I  have  no  comfort  in 
rising  up  or  sitting  down,  in  going  out  or  in  coming 
in.  I  cannot  eat  without  condemnation.  I  desire  to 
eat  and  to  drink  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  nature, 
but  when  I  partake  of  God's  good  creatures  I  feel  it 
is  without  God's  blessing.  I  desire  God's  blessing 
beyond  all  expression,  for  it  is  that  only  which  maketh 
rich,  and  addeth  no  sorrow  with  it.  I  feel  my  life 
has  been  a  failure,  that  my  works  have  not  been 
perfect  before  God ;  all  men  have  spoken  well  of  me. 


128  MAD  HUMANITY 

as  they  did  of  the  false  prophets ;  I  have  been  as 
much  deceived  myself  as  others  have  been  deceived  in 
me.  With  God  actions  are  weighed,  and  He  will 
bring  every  work  into  judgment,  and  every  secret 
thought,  whether  it  be  good  or  evil. 

"  I  have  been  greatly  troubled  and  perplexed  in 
my  mind  for  the  past  four  or  five  months ;  difficulties 
have  increased ;  at  first  there  were  temporal  losses, 
but  not  to  such  an  extent  as  in  ordinary  circumstances 
would  have  occasioned  solicitude ;  then  my  mind  and 
spirits  were  disturbed — I  began  to  predict  loss  and 
ruin.  For  a  long  time  religion  has  been  declining  in 
my  soul.  I  used  very  highly  to  prize  the  Sabbaths, 
but  for  the  past  nine  or  ten  Sabbaths  I  have  not  been 
able,  something  within  has  made  it  in  a  way  im- 
possible to  go  to  God's  house,  although  I  would 
desire  His  blessing.  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain 
it ;  God  seems  to  have  laid  open  to  me  all  my  heart 
and  all  my  life.  His  promise  I  can't  lay  hold  of; 
I  fear  His  dreadful  threatenings.  I  fear  God  has 
forsaken  me.  I  have  thought  all  my  life  long  that 
I  sincerely  loved  my  Saviour,  and  desired  to  serve 
Him.  There  seems  to  have  been  two  principles 
striving  and  working  in  me :  I  thought  the  good  was 
the  prevailing  one,  but  I  have  been  deceived.  I  try 
to  pray,  and  at  times  I  seem  to  be  able  to  pray. 
This  world  seems  to  be  all  in  confusion,  everything 
contradictory,  men  walking  in  a  vain  show  and  dis- 
quieting themselves  in  vain.  I  feel  tliat  I  have 
been  a  slothful  servant,  and  that  I  am  doomed  to 
everlasting  perdition." 

This  patient  passed  into  a  state  of  acute  mania, 
and  had  to  be  fed  mechanically. 


RELIGIOUS  MADXESS  129 

Another  patient  thus  clescril^ed  his  symptoms  to 
me  :  "  I  was  nervous  and  morbidly  self-conscious  from 
childhood,  yet  sanguine  and  physically  robust.  At 
fifteen  I  had  a  long  fit  of  slight  depression  of  a 
varying  character,  and  at  sixteen  I  left  school,  after  a 
very  erratic  and  superficial  education. 

"  Havincr  no  definite  work,  I  became  a  victim  to 
indolence  and  sin.  At  eighteen,  thinking  seriously  of 
religion,  I  went  to  hear  Moody,  who  happened,  on  the 
day  I  went,  to  preach  on  the  subject  of  restitution  and 
confession.  Eemembering  a  petty  dishonesty  I  had 
committed  a  short  time  before,  but  shrinking  from 
the  duty  Mr.  Moody  pointed  out,  I  confided  in  our 
clergyman,  who,  to  my  horror,  considered  not  only 
restitution  but  confession  to  the  injured  party  neces- 
sary. I  went  through  the  ordeal,  and  felt  happy  and 
at  rest  for  a  few  days ;  but  gradually  other  deeds  of  a 
like  nature  came  to  my  remembrance,  and  as  each  of 
these  came  back  as  a  barrier  between  my  soul  and 
God,  I  only  gained  relief  by  yielding  to  the  idea  that 
I  must  make  restitution  and  confession  of  each,  though 
many  of  them  had  been  committed  in  early  childhood. 
This  idea  became  a  sort  of  mania,  and  carried  me 
terrible  lengths,  though  only  mentally,  for  once  my 
will  yielded  to  these  suggestions  I  had  comparative 
peace ;  and  meantime  our  clergyman  preached  highly 
evangelical  sermons,  with  which  I  allowed  myself  to 
be  comforted,  but  without  acting  upon  them.  This 
darkness  passed  away,  and  my  vague  but  happy  trust 
in  the  God  of  Nature  returned.  This  faith  had  no 
practical  influence  on  my  life,  however,  for  I  still  led 
the  same  idle,  selfish  life,  all  the  while  indulging  in 
dreams  of  amendment  in  the  near  future,  and  of  a 


130  MAD  HUMANITY 

noble  and  useful  life  to  commence.  Then  my  health 
began  to  be  unsatisfactory.  I  was  taken  to  Sir  A. 
Clark,  and  as  I  was  suffering  also  from  severe  indi- 
gestion, he  gave  me  a  table  of  dietary,  which  I  carried 
out  so  religiously  that  I  was  reduced  to  a  skeleton. 
My  face  had  altered  so  much,  and  my  life  seemed  to 
be  so  quickly  slipping  away,  that  I  became  alarmed ; 
and,  nervous  depression  setting  in,  I  became  a  victim  to 
remorse  and  despair,  and  all  the  old  ideas  of  restitution 
and  confession  returned.  At  last  I  was  taken  to  a 
local  doctor,  who  prescribed  six  months  in  bed  and  a 
liberal  diet.  This  worked  wonders  in  my  body;  I 
gained  five  stone,  but  I  had  had  to  go  through  dreadful 
mental  agony  in  that  awful  time.  I  was  sent  after- 
wards to  Scotland  for  a  change,  but  life  seemed  to 
have  lost  all  its  zest,  and  ever  since  that  illness  I  have 
been  haunted  by  a  morbid  dread  of  insanity.  I  still 
clung,  however,  to  the  hope  of  redeeming  the  past;  but 
not  having  been  trained  to  any  special  line  of  work, 
there  seemed  no  place  in  the  world  for  me,  and,  feeling 
that  I  was  not  necessary  to  any  one,  sank  into  a  state 
of  apathy,  and  allowed  myself  to  sink  so  low  as  to  live 
only  to  eat.  I  was  restless  and  unhappy,  however, 
and  at  last  could  stand  this  state  of  things  no  longer, 
and  obtained  employment  as  a  copying  clerk  in  the 
City.  I  grew  brighter  and  more  ambitious,  and  felt 
my  soul  growing,  but  at  the  same  time  my  physical 
health  was  fast  deteriorating,  and  I  was  conscious  of 
a  distressing  want  of  will-power.  One  day,  being 
oppressed  with  a  dread  of  insanity  being  about  to 
attack  me,  I  looked  up  for  strength  to  endure,  and 
suddenly  a  great  light  shone  in,  and  all  the  darkness 
and  unbelief  seemed  to  lift  themselves  from  my  brain. 


RELIGIOUS  MADNESS  131 

With  this  new  light,  however,  came  also  a  terrible 
nervous  fever ;  all  the  old  melancholy  threatened  to 
return,  but  with  my  newly-acquired  strength  I  fought 
against  it.  This  struggle  commenced  about  Easter 
last,  and  I  have  been  fighting  ever  since,  but  gradually 
my  will-power  was  exhausted  in  the  face  of  this 
terrible  melancholy,  and  I  had  to  let  the  whole  thing 
go,  and  now  feel  more  a  'thing'  than  ever,  though 
much  stronger  physically.  If  I  think  of  religion,^a 
fearful  terror  of  God  and  of  eternity  comes  over  me, 
and  my  moral  sense  becomes  perverted,  so  that  I  feel 
it  wrong  to  do  right.  And  yet  alongside  of  this  there 
exists  a  faint  trust  and  a  conviction  that  in  earnest 
prayer  and  clinging  for  strength  lies  my  only  hope." 

The  general  appearance  of  a  patient  when  the 
disease  has  progressed  is  characteristic  of  the  mental 
unsoundness  from  which  he  is  suffering.  He  has  an 
anxious  expression  of  countenance,  the  face  is  worn, 
haggard,  and  pale,  and  wears  a  constant  frown.  He 
is  restless,  and  appears  to  be  in  a  most  pitiable  state. 
The  delusions,  as  a  rule,  haunt  the  patient  day  and 
mght,  and  no  arguments,  however  weighty  or  by  whom 
stated,  will  make  the  least  alteration  in  the  firm 
morbid  belief.  In  fact,  the  stronger  the  argument 
against  the  delusions,  the  more  confirmed  will  they 
become. 

In  these  cases  the  relatives,  not  recognising  the 
real  mental  condition,  will  allow  arguments  to  be 
brought  forward  by  clergymen  and  others,  in  order  to 
disperse  the  insane  notions,  but,  alas !  with  no  good 
resulting,  but  positive  injury.  For  it  is  not  simply  a 
mistaken  idea,  but  a  morbid  perception,  resulting  from 
a  brain  functionally  or  organically  disordered,  and  the 


132  MAD  HUMANITY 

person  so  afflicted  is  an  irresponsible  agent,  and  thus 
incapacitated  by  disease  from  shaking  off  his  mistaken 
belief. 

All  patients  suffering  from  religious  insanity  must 
be  regarded  as  suicidal.  They  generally  either  have  a 
disgust  for  this  life,  and  are  consequently  anxious  to 
leave  it,  or  are  under  a  morbid  conception  of  a  text  of 
Scripture,  and  will  attempt  self-mutilation. 

Some  patients  will  artfully  seize  an  opportune 
moment  to  conceal  a  weapon  to  inflict  self- injury. 
Others  will  openly  and  shamelessly  avow  their  inten- 
tion of  destruction,  and  if  left  to  their  own  inclinations 
will  starve ;  frequently  this  pertinacity  in  refusing 
food  becomes  so  excessive  that  mechanical  means  have 
to  be  used  to  feed  them.  The  thoughts  are  generally 
directed  towards  the  evils  of  a  future  existence,  and 
this  unseen  state  causes  gloomy  anticipations  of 
melancholy  and  remorse,  and  they  are  taunted  by  self- 
inflicting  imaginations. 

Whilst  in  this  state  of  perturbation  and  gloom,  the 
very  face  of  nature  appears  to  them  obscured,  and  a 
veil  to  be  hanging  over  sun,  moon,  and  earth  : — 

"  Melancholy  spreads  itself 
'Twixt  heaven  and  earth,  like  envy  between  man 
And  man ;  and  is  an  everlasting  mist." 

The  immediate  friends  and  relatives  of  a  patient 
who  has  these  premonitory  symptoms  frequently  refuse 
to  believe  in  the  opinion,  as  expressed  by  the  physician, 
as  to  the  case  being  one  of  mental  unsoundness,  and 
at  the  same  time  will  not  even  regard  it  as  suicidal. 
Medical  men,  who  have  these  cases  brought  under 
their  immediate  observation,  frequently  see  frightful 


RELIGIOUS  MADNESS  133 

results  in  consequence  of  the  relatives  not  following 
out  their  advice. 

I  could  narrate  many  cases  which  have  come  under 
my  own  observation  of  persons  in  the  incubatory 
stage  of  religious  insanity  who  committed  suicide,  in 
consequence  of  the  obstinacy  of  the  friends  in  refusing 
either  to  place  the  patient  under  supervision  in  an 
asylum,  or  allow  a  proper  attendant  to  be  placed  with 
him  until  the  dangerous  symptoms  have  subsided. 

As  the  disease  advances,  the  sadness  and  gloom 
become  excessive;  the  patieiit  rarely  smiles  or  ex- 
hibits any  symptom  of  gratification,  seeking  solitude 
and  avoiding  cheerful  society,  the  mind  burdened  as  if 
by  some  hidden  sorrow.  At  times  he  is  irritable, 
worried,  and  disturbed  by  the  slightest  noise;  the 
least  thing  contrary  to  his  own  individual  wish  annoys 
him ;  he  fears  danger  from  the  smallest  circumstance, 
and  exaggerates  the  slightest  difficulty  into  one  of  the 
greatest  importance.  Pain  and  remorse  are  caused  by 
impressions  which  were  formerly  most  agreeable  to  him. 
He  is  either  in  a  state  of  perpetual  discontentment,  or, 
by  shunning  society  and  seeking  solitude,  he  is  able  to 
brood  uninterruptedly  over  his  insane  imagination. 

"  I  want  to  be  alone,  to  find  some  sliade, 
Some  sohtary  gloom,  there  to  shake  ott' 
These  tumultuous  cares,  that  vex  my  life, 
This  sick  ambition  on  itself  recoiling  ; 
And  there  to  listen  to  the  gentle  voice, 
The  sigh  of  peace,  something — I  knoAv  not  Avhat — 
That  whispers  transport  to  my  heart." 

The  feeling  of  hatred  and  indifference  often  shows 
itself  in  a  morbid  dislike  to  those  by  whom  he  is 
surrounded.      This  incipient  stage  of  melancholia  is 


134  MAD  HUMANITY 

accurately  depicted  by  Shakespeare :  "  I  have  of  hite — 
but  wherefore  I  know  not — lost  all  my  mirth,  foregone 
all  custom  of  exercises ;  and  indeed  it  goes  so  heavily 
with  my  disposition  that  this  goodly  frame,  the  earth, 
seems  to  me  a  sterile  promontory,  this  most  excellent 
canopy,  the  air,  look  you,  this  brave  o'erhanging 
firmament,  this  majestical  roof  fretted  with  golden 
fire,  why,  it  appears  no  other  thing  to  me  than  a  foul 
and  pestilent  congregation  of  vapom's." 

The  melancholic  patient,  having  been  in  a  state 
of  dread  and  apprehension  for  some  time,  gradually 
passes  into  a  state  of  helpless  despondency. 

Eeligious  insanity  is  usually  of  long  continuance, 
and  may  terminate  either  in  a  restoration  to  a  normal 
state  of  mind  and  body,  or  in  incurable  insanity  and 
confirmed  mania. 

This  latter  is  remarkable  for  its  destructive  pro- 
pensities, and  depraved  state  of  morality.  The  mode 
of  its  termination  depends  on  the  character  and 
general  disposition  of  the  patient.  Sometimes  it 
terminates  in  profound  insanity  and  hypocrisy,  the 
most  profound  and  obdurate  condition  of  the  mind 
there  is,  for  the  knave  knowingly  acts  a  part  which 
he  no  longer  believes  to  be  true.  Superstition  and 
fanaticism  are  other  modes  of  its  termination,  leading 
oftentimes  to  murder,  the  infliction  of  bodily  cruelties, 
or  revenge,  the  deadliest  of  the  evil  passions. 

I  propose  to  consider,  very  briefly,  the  intellectual, 
social,  and  moral  causes  of  religious  insanity.  There 
is  in  the  world  a  common  propensity  to  create  a 
religion  of  om-  own,  founded  simply  upon  the  instincts  of 
religion.  It  is,  in  fact,  nothing  more  than  yielding  to 
the  instinctive  feeling  of  piety  which  pervades  every 


Delusions  of  Persecution  in  MonoMxVNia. 


RELIGIOUS  MADNESS  135 

breast.  By  mixing  up  our  private  feelings  with  those 
in  common  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  without  definition 
or  agreement,  we  confuse  ourselves,  become  puzzled  or 
disgusted,  and  end  by  setting  forth  our  own  individual 
feelings  in  the  place  of  the  public  standard  of  recti- 
tude. In  so  momentous  a  matter  as  that  of  death 
and  futurity,  which  is,  in  short,  the  essence  of 
Christianity,  the  probability  is,  that  what  is  private  is 
wrong,  and  that  what  is  common  is  right ;  for  true 
religion  is  a  revelation  from  external  sources,  whereas 
false  religions  are  hallucinations  from  within.  The 
external  law  of  the  Gospel  is  binding  to  mankind,  but 
an  internal  ideality  is  not  binding  even  to  the  idealist 
himself.  It  has  been  acutely  said  that  man  makes  his 
God  like  himself,  whereas  revelation  proposes  to  make 
man  no  longer  like  himself,  but  like  its  own  great 
Author. 

In  an  intellectual  sense,  it  is  from  mistaking 
a  particular  idea  for  universal  truth  that  religious 
madness  springs.  This  fatal  mistake  may  be  the 
result  of  imperfect  education,  or  of  a  particular  educa- 
tion on  a  particular  idea ;  or  it  may  be  the  result  of  a 
mind  invincibly  defective,  perverted  or  impaired  by 
bodily  disease.  It  is  with  the  two  last  causes  that  we 
are  chiefly  concerned. 

Knowing  as  we  do  the  all -engrossing  nature  of 
religion,  and  the  intensity  of  the  emotion  evoked  by 
it  in  sensitive  minds,  we  should  be  prepared  to  expect 
every  form  of  mental  aberration  from  a  perversion  of 
religious  truth.  Eeligious  madness  is  usually  attri- 
buted to  religion  itself.  No  such  imputation  can  be 
lodged;  it  is  more  than  probable  that  strong  re- 
ligious sentiment  and  feeling  guides  a  man   rightly 


136  MAD  HUMANITY 

when  he  ^YOlTkl  otherwise  fail,  and  that  it  is  actual 
brain  disease  which  aggravates  this  sentiment,  rather 
than  that  this  sentiment  produces  the  brain  disease, 
and  as  a  result  its  manifestation,  religious  insanity. 
But  it  must  be  admitted  that  in  some  cases  religious 
excitement  develops  mental  disorder. 

Considering  that  sensitive  minds  are  generally 
morbid,  the  result  of  organic  changes  going  on  in  a 
body  morbidly  alive  to  every  external  stimulant,  we 
shall  perceive  that  religious  madness  is  the  complex 
result  of  partial  knowledge,  imperfect  faith,  excessive 
sensibility,  and  cerebral  disease  combined.  Hence  the 
inveteracy  of  its  character,  and  the  difi&culty  that  is 
experienced  in  treating  it  properly  and  successfully : 
for  it  is  not  a  mere  mental  act,  it  is  not  a  violent 
effort  of  volition,  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  an  excite- 
ment upon  the  abstract  truths  of  religion,  originating 
from,  or  closely  connected  with,  actual  organic  changes 
of  structure,  so  that  it  has  often  been  affirmed  that 
religious  excitement  will  be  found  to  resolve  itself  into 
animal  excitement.  Eeligious  insanity  must  be  con- 
sidered as  a  disease  of  the  brain,  and  not  as  a  meta- 
physical alteration  and  abstraction  of  ideas.  The 
victim  of  this  form  of  mental  disease  is  subject 
to  well-marked  delusions  and  hallucinations.  These 
symptoms,  especially  the  latter,  indicate  very  seriously 
a  disturbed  circulation  through  the  encephalon,  or  else 
actual  disease  of  the  brain  itself.  Hallucinations  of 
the  insane  are  not  voluntary,  and  always  co-exist  with 
impaired  intelligence,  resulting  from  an  impaired  or 
disorganised  brain.  The  consciousness  is  diseased ; 
the  lunatic  is  often  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  false 
delusions  of  which  he  is  conscious. 


RELIGIOUS  MADNESS  137 

The  several  moral  intellectual  powers  and  qualities 
that  enter  into  and  make  up  the  mind  and  character 
of  man  are  very  irregularly  distributed. 

One  is  favoured  with  a  large  proportion  of  one 
faculty  and  a  disproportionally  small  quantity  of 
another,  very  little  of  a  third,  and  none  at  all  of  a 
fourth.  From  the  lowest  idiot,  who  cannot  even  con- 
trol his  muscular  powers  so  much  as  to  move  his  limbs 
rightly,  or  masticate  his  food,  who  neither  is  gifted 
with  the  senses  of  seeing,  hearing,  or  feeling,  up  to 
men  of  the  highest  order  of  intelligence  and  intellect, 
are  to  be  found  all  intermediate  grades  of  intelligence, 
without  an  interval  between  them. 

But  paramount  to  this  variety  of  intelligence  is 
consciousness,  that  fundamental  principle  of  the  mind 
common  alike  to  the  understanding,  the  passions,  and 
the  intellect — that  faculty  which  cannot  be  entirely 
lost,  except  by  the  total  destruction  of  the  mind  itself. 
The  most  miserable  idiot  is  gifted  with  consciousness, 
and  many  of  the  insane  are  perfectly  conscious  of  the 
extravagances  they  commit.  Their  motives  may  be 
irrational,  but  their  act  is  a  conscious  one,  be  its  con- 
sequences what  they  may.  But,  at  the  same  time,  no 
form  of  insanity  ever  exists  without  a  perversion  of 
the  conscience,  as  well  as  an  impairment  of  one  or 
more  of  the  mental  faculties,  inducing  a  loss  in  the 
power  of  comparison.  Judgment — and  as  religious 
insanity  is  specifically  a  disease  or  error  of  judgment — 
it  follows  therefore  that  the  person  religiously  insane 
is  incapable  of  appreciating  the  value  of  the  just 
evidences  of  truth.  One  of  the  moral  causes  of  reli- 
gious insanity  is  a  diseased  consciousness  interfering 
with  the  clearness  and  independence  of  the  judgment. 


138  MAD  HUMANITY 

The  fear  of  death  may  be  mentioned  as  another  of 
the  moral  causes.  In  many  cases,  when  the  convic- 
tion that  death  is  imminent  and  irretrievable,  the 
mind  is  so  depressed  that  it  never  afterwards  entirely 
recovers  from  the  shock.  Indeed,  the  mental  faculties 
are  so  much  impaired  as  to  render  the  account  and 
narrative  of  these  persons  often  incorrect  and  exagger- 
ated. They  are  hallucinated  at  the  moment,  deceived 
by  their  own  sensations,  which  are  perturbed  and  con- 
fused, and  which  lead  them  to  deceive  others  without 
meaning  to  do  so. 

I  will  consider,  in  conclusion,  a  few  of  the  special 
features  met  with  in  religious  insanity.  The  zeal 
which  accompanies  this  variety  of  insanity  is  as  dis- 
tinct from  true  religious  conviction  and  practice  as 
health  is  from  the  heat  and  flurry  of  stimulants,  for 
the  majority  of  religious  madmen  have  not  one  correct 
idea  of  religion,  nor  of  a  single  article  of  faith.  The 
mind,  if  turned  especially  to  one  subject,  particularly 
if  it  be  an  abstruse  one,  cannot  dwell  on  this  one  idea 
exclusively  for  any  lengtli  of  time  without  incurring  a 
great  risk  of  becoming  disordered ;  and  if  it  does  not 
become  visibly  deranged,  it  will  form  a  false  percep- 
ception  and  estimate  of  things,  and  will  attach  to 
trivial  and  unimportant  matters  a  weight  and  import- 
ance they  do  not  deserve. 

The  greatest  number  of  people  are  never  tauglit 
anything  properly  or  accurately.  They  grow  up  by 
chance,  they  live  and  die  by  chance,  and,  when  they 
die,  they  depart  this  life  to  go  they  know  not  where, 
and  to  be  they  know  not  what.  In  all  of  them  the 
religious  instinct  is  innate.  They  feel  they  were  not 
born    for    this    short  life  alone.     They  are  conscious 


RELIGIOUS  MADNESS  139 

that  they  were  not  meant  to  die  like  the  beasts  that 
perish.  They  look  upwards  to  the  heavens,  and 
wonder  who  and  w^hat  they  are.  The  meanest  intel- 
lio^ences  anion cj  them  feel  as  much  as  this ;  and  how 
much  more  would  they  not  feel  and  do  were  they  but 
properly  instructed  and  trained,  as  moral  agents  and 
responsible  beings,  to  play  their  parts  in  time,  so  as  to 
be  siu^e  of  winning  their  reward  in  eternity  ?  The 
moralist,  the  philosopher,  and  the  politician  cannot 
contemplate  such  a  critical  disorder  of  society — shall 
I  say  of  civilised  society  ? — as  this  without  dismay, 
nor  ponder  on  the  future  without  anxiety  and  regret. 

Keligious  insanity  may  be  considered  as  the  un- 
avoidable consequence  of  religious  ignorance.  Those 
who  have  been  carefully  grounded  in  their  faith  can 
scarcely  go  mad  upon  it.  It  is  the  same  in  this 
respect  as  in  most  others — a  little  knowledge  is  a 
dangerous  thing.  Xo  one  can  teach  himself.  At  the 
best,  he  is  only  an  amateur.  Earnest  indeed  he  may 
be,  but  if  so,  only  so  much  the  worse,  for  the  more 
earnest,  and  if  earnest  then  sincere,  the  more  certain 
he  is  of  falling  into  errors,  both  in  matter  and  form, 
of  the  gravest  description.  To  become  a  proficient  he 
must  have  a  master,  go  to  school,  and  learn  his  rudi- 
ments, beginning  from  the  beginning,  and  working 
upwards  to  the  top.  Without  this  preliminary 
groundwork  every  subsequent  effort  will  be  con- 
temptible and  worthless.  Smattering  is  the  bane  of 
every  art  and  science,  and  so  it  is  of  religion. 

If  it  happens  to  be  religion  that  the  inquirer  takes 
up  late  in  life,  the  mind  is  exclusively  directed  to  one 
dogma,  doctrine,  or  point  of  discipline,  to  the  total 
neglect  of  other  doctrines,  or  their  partial  obscuration  ; 


140  MAD  HUMANITY 

and  this  magnified  doctrine  or  dogma  is  generally  one 
of  secondary  importance. 

k  A  mind  untrained  in  religious  discipline  is  prone 
to  vagaries,  and  easily  becomes  deranged  at  the  first 
peep  into  the  stupendous  truths  of  revelation. 

^  Eeligious  sentiment  or  instinct  enters  so  materially, 
as  well  as  so  intimately,  into  every  motive  and  every 
action,  and  tinges  so  deeply  and  indelibly  every  thought, 
implicit  or  express,  that  it  may  be  said  no  event 
happens  in  the  world  which  is  not  a  scene  in  one  of 
the  acts  of  a  vast  religious  drama.  It  is  manifested 
in  every  deed,  both  public  and  private,  and  is  dis- 
played with  the  greatest  intensity  by  such  as  are 
highly  nervous  and  susceptible.  Even  the  infidel  is 
an  actor  whose  life  is  passed  in  braving  his  own 
instincts,  and  the  devotee,  too,  is  another  actor  whose 
days  are  passed  in  nursing  and  putting  forth  his 
instincts.  Eeligious  feelings,  when  intensely  pro- 
fessed or  denied,  whether  true  or  false,  cannot  fail  to 
leave  their  traces  upon  the  fine  organism  of  the  brain, 
and  heresy,  and  sometimes  mania,  is  the  result.  The 
heretic  is  often  only  a  religious  madman,  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  religious  madman  is  sure  to  be  a 
heretic,  since  his  insane  notions  are  partially  distorted 
and  irrelevant. 

*  The  most  dangerous  errors,  both  public  and  private, 
are  the  miserable  consequences  of  degenerate  piety  and 
ignorant  devotion.  Wars  and  cruelties  of  all  kinds 
have  been  perpetrated  by  all  parties  to  root  out  a 
hostile  creed ;  and  were  we  to  look  only  on  the  dark 
side  of  Christianity,  we  might  be  induced  to  despair  of 
human  happiness  both  here  and  hereafter.  Fanati- 
cism, folly,  and  knavery  are  traceable  in  every  form  of 


RELIGIOUS  MADNESS  141 

religion,  and  very  distinctly  can  they  be  traced  in  the 
false  superstition  so  prevalent  in  the  age  we  live  in. 
Under  the  cloak  of  religion  what  enormities  have  not 
been  perpetrated,  what  stupidities  have  not  been 
enacted,  what  misery  not  inflicted,  what  confusion  not 
created  ?  Were  we  permitted  to  do  so,  we  would  drop 
the  curtain  over  the  lurid  scene,  and  shut  it  out  from 
every  eye.  But  this  may  not  be.  Its  extravagances 
are  the  test  of  its  reality,  and  its  abuse  the  proof  of 
its  utility. 


CHAPTER    YI 

SUICIDAL    MADNESS 

All  human  actions  are  under  the  influence  and  power 
of  example,  more  than  precept,  and  consequently  self- 
destruction  has  often  been  justified  by  an  appeal  to 
the  laws  and  customs  of  past  ages.  yAn  undue  rever- 
ence for  the  authority  of  antiquity  induces  us  to  rely 
more  upon  what  has  been  said  or  done  in  former 
times  than  upon  the  dictates  of  our  own  feelings  and 
judgment,  jt  Many  a  mistaken  individual  has  formed 
the  most  extravagant  notions  of  honour,  liberty,  and 
of  courage,  and,  under  the  impression  that  he  was 
imitating  the  noble  example  of  some  ancient  hero,  has 
sacrificed  his  life.  He  may  possibly  urge  in  his 
defence  that  suicide  has  been  enjoined  by  positive 
laws,  and  allowed  by  ancient  custom,  that  the  greatest 
and  bravest  nation  in  the  w^orld  practised  it,  and  that 
the  most  wise  and  virtuous  sect  of  philosophers  taught 
that  it  was  an  evidence  of  courage,  magnanimity,  and 
virtue,  a  The  force  of  example  is  one  which  appeals  to 
the  mind  of  certain  individuals,  but  is  in  itself  based 
solely  on  fallacy.  %,  A  man  who  has  made  up  his  mind 
to  a  certain  course  of  action  can  easily  discover  reasons 
to  justify  him  in  wliat  he  has  in  contemplation.      No 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  143 

inferences,  however  deduced  from  the  consideration 
of  the  suicides  of  antiquity,  can  be  logically  applied 
nowadays,  as  we  live  under  a  Christian  dispensation. 
Our  notions  of  honour,  of  death,  and  of  courage  are, 
in  many  respects,  so  dissimilar  from  those  which  the 
ancients  entertained  that  the  subject  of  suicide  is 
placed  entirely  on  a  different  basis. 

<•  In  our  voyage  through  life  the  passions  are  said 
to  be  the  gales  that  swell  the  canvas  of  the  mental 
bark.  ^  They  obstruct  or  accelerate  its  course,  and 
render  the  passage  favourable,  or  full  of  danger,  in 
proportion  as  they  blow  steadily  from  a  proper  point, 
or  are  adverse  or  tempestuous.-^  Like  the  wind  itself, 
the  passions  are  engines  of  mighty  power,  and  of  high 
importance.  0  Without  them  we  cannot  proceed,  and 
with  them  we  may  be  shipwrecked  and  lost.fC  Curbed 
in  and  regulated,  they  constitute  the  source  of  our 
most  elevated  happiness  ;  but  when  not  subdued,  they 
drive  the  vessel  on  the  rocks  and  quicksands  of  life 
and  ruin  us. 

"  How  few  beneath  auspicious  planets  born, 

With  swelling  sails  make  good  the  promis'd  port, 

With  all  their  wishes  freighted."  ,^ 

°  Young. 

"  In  this  country,"  Dr.  Johnson  justly  observes, 
"  where  man's  relations  with  the  world  around  him 
are  multiplied  beyond  all  example  in  any  other 
country,  in  consequence  of  the  intensity  of  interest 
attached  to  politics,  religion,  amusement,  literature, 
and  the  arts ;  where  the  temporal  concerns  of  an 
immense  proportion  of  the  population  are  in  a  per- 
petual state  of  vacillation ;  where  spiritual  affairs 
excite   in   the   minds   of   many   great   anxiety ;     and 


144  MAD  HUMAXITY 

where  speculative  risks  are  daily  involving  in  diffi- 
culties all  classes  of  society, — the  operation  of  physical 
causes  in  the  production  of  disease  dwindles  into  com- 
plete insignificance,  when  compared  with  that  of  anxiety 
and  perturbation  of  mind." 

"  Mens  conscia  recti  in  corpore  sano"  is  Horace's 
well-known  description  of  the  happy  man.  Lucretius 
appears  to  have  formed  a  correct  estimate  of  the  most 
important  bodily  and  mental  conditions  on  which  our 
happiness  depends : — 

"  0  wretclied  mortals  !  race  perverse  and  bhnd  ! 
Through  what  dread,  dark,  what  23erilous  j)ursiiits, 
Pass  ye  this  round  of  being  !     Know  ye  not, 
Of  all  ye  toil  for,  Nature  nothing  asks. 
But  for  the  hody  freedom  from  disease. 
And  sweet,  unanxious  quiet  for  the  mind  ? " 

Like  human  beings,  the  sciences  are  closely  con- 
nected with,  and  are  mutually  dependent  upon,  one 
another.  The  link  in  the  chain  may  not  be  apparent, 
but  it  has  a  real  and  palpable  existence.i^  Medical  and 
moral  science  are  more  nearly  allied  than  we  should, 
a  priori,  conclude.  We  speak  of  the  science  of  medi- 
cine, not  the  practice  of  it ;  for,  like  judgment  and 
wit,  or,  as  the  author  of  the  School  for  Scandal 
ironically  observes,  "  like  man  and  wife,  how  seldom 
are  they  seen  in  happy  union."  Garth  feelingly 
alludes  to  this  unnatural  divorce : — 

"  The  healing  art  now,  sick'ning,  hangs  its  head. 
And,  once  a  science,  has  become  a  ti-ade." 

Psychological  medicine  has  been  sadly  neglected. 
We  recoil  from  the  study  of  mental  philosophy  as  if 
we  were  encroaching  on  holy  ground.     So  great  is  the 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS 


14f, 


prejudice  against  this  branch  of  science,  that  it  has 
been  observed  that  to  recommend  a  man  to  study 
metaphysics  was  a  delicate  mode  of  suggesting  the 
propriety  of  confining  him  in  a  lunatic  asylum  -  ° 

In  order  to  become  a  useful  physician,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  become  a  good  metaphysician  ;  so  says  a  com- 
petent authority.     It  was  not,  however,  Dr    Cullen's 
intention   to  recommend  that  species  of   philosophy 
which  confounds  the  mind  without  enlighteninr.  it 
and  which,  like  an  ignis  fatuus,  dazzles  only  to  lead 
us  from  the  truth.     To  the  medical  man  we  can  con- 
ceive no  preliminary  study  more  productive  of  advantage 
than  that  which  tends  to  call  into  exercise  the  latent 
principle  of  thought,  and   to  accustom  the  mind  to 
close,  rigid,  and  accurate  observation. X  The  science  of 
mmd,  when  properly  investigated,  teaches  us  the  laws 
ot  our  mental  frame,  and  shows  us  the  origin  of  our 
various  modes  and  habits  of  thought  and  feeling  how 
they  operate  upon  one  another,  and  how  they  are  cul 
tivated  and  repressed.     It  disciplines  us  in  the  art  of 
induction,  and  guards  us  against  the  many  sources  of 
fallacy  in  the  practice  of  making  inferences.     It  cives 
precision  and  accuracy  to  our  investigations,  by  in- 
structing us  in  the  nicer  discriminations  of  truth  and 
falsehood. 

The  value  of  mental  philosophy  as  a  branch  of 
education  will  be  properly  appreciated,  when  we  con- 
sider that  this  ennobling  principle  was  given  to  us  for 
the  purpose  of  directing  and  controlling  our  powers 
and  animal  propensities,  and  bringing  them  into  that 
subjection  whereby  they  become  beneficial  to  the  indi- 
vidual and  to  the  world  at  large,  enabling  him  to 
e.xchange  with  others  those  results  which  the  power 

L 


146  MAD  HUMAXITY 

of  his  own  and  the  gigantic  efforts  of  other  minds 
have  developed ;  maintaining  and  perpetuating  the 
most  dignified  and  exalted  state  of  happiness,  the 
attribute  of  social  life ;  unfolding  not  only  treasures 
which  the  concentrated  powers  of  individuals  are 
enabled  to  discover,  but  developing  those  more  quiet 
and  unobtrusive  characteristics  of  virtuous  life,  those 
social  affections  which  are  alone  calculated  to  make 
our  present  state  of  being  happy. 

Independently  of  the  utility  of  study,  what  a  world 
of  delight  is  open  to  the  mind  of  that  man  who  has 
devoted  some  portion  of  his  time  to  the  investigation 
of  his  mental  organisation !  In  him  we  may  truly 
behold — 

"  Nature,  gentle,  kind. 
By  culture  tamed,  by  liberty  refreshed, 
And  all  the  radiant  fruits  of  truth  matured." 

When  we  take  into  consideration  the  tremendous 
influence  which  the  different  mental  emotions  have 
over  the  bodily  functions,  when  we  perceive  that 
violent  excitement  of  mind  will  not  only  give  rise  to 
serious  functional  disorder,  but  actual  organic  disease, 
leading  to  the  commission  of  suicide,  how  necessary 
does  it  appear  that  he  to  whose  care  is  entrusted  the 
lives  of  his  fellow-creatures  should  have  made  this 
department  of  philosophy  a  matter  of  serious  con- 
sideration l)i  It  is  no  logical  argument  against  the 
study  of  mental  science  to  urge  that  we  are  in  total 
ignorance  of  the  natm-e  or  constitution  of  the  human 
understanding.  "VYe  know  nothing  of  the  nature  of 
objects  which  are  cognisable  to  sense,  and  which  can 
be  submitted  to  actual  experiment,  and  yet  we  are  not 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  147 

deterred  from  the  investigation  of  their  properties  and 
mutual  influences. 'ji^  The  passions  are  to  be  considered, 
in  a  medical  point  of  view,  as  a  part  of  our  constitu- 
tion. ^They  stimulate  or  depress  the  mind,  as  food 
and  drink  do  the  body.  Employed  occasionally,  and 
in  moderation,  both  may  be  of  use  to  us,  and  are  given 
to  us  by  nature  for  this  purpose ;  but  when  urged  to 
excess,  the  system  is  thrown  off  its  balance,  and  disease 
is  the  result. 

To  the  medical  philosopher,  nothing  can  be  more 
deeply  interesting  than  to  trace  the  reciprocity  of 
action  existing  between  different  mental  conditions, 
and  affections  of  particular  organs.  Thus  the  passion 
of  fear,  when  excited,  has  a  sensible  influence  on  the 
action  of  the  heart ;  and  when  the  disease  of  this 
organ  takes  place  independently  of  any  mental  agita- 
tion, the  passion  of  fear  is  powerfully  roused.  Anger 
affects  the  liver,  and  frequently  gives  rise  to  an  attack 
of  jaundice ;  and  in  hepatic  and  intestinal  disease, 
how  irritable  the  temper  is ! 

vHope,  or  the  anticipation  of  pleasiu'e,  affects  the 
respiration ;  and  how  often  do  we  see  patients  in  the 
last  stage  of  pulmonary  disease  entertaining  sanguine 
expectations  of  recovery  to  the  very  last ! 

As  the  passions  exercise  so  despotic  a  tyranny  over 
the  physical  economy,  it  is  natural  to  expect  that  the 
crime  of  suicide  should  often  be  traced  to  the  influence 
of  mental  causes.  In  many  cases,  it  is  difficult  to 
discover  whether  the  brain,  the  seat  of  the  passions, 
be  primarily  or  secondarily  affected.  Often  the  cause 
of  irritation  is  situated  at  some  distance  from  the 
cerebral  organ ;  but  when  the  fountain-head  of  the 
nervous  system  becomes  deranged,  it  will  react  on  the 


148 


MAD  HUMANITY 


bodily  functions,  and  produce  serious  disease  long  after 
the  original  cause  of  excitement  is  removed.  It  is 
not  my  intention  to  attempt  to  explain  the  modus 
operandi  of  mental  causes  in  the  production  of  the 
suicidal  disposition.  That  such  effects  result  from  an 
undue  excitement  of  the  mind  cannot  for  one  moment 
be  questioned.  Independently  of  mental  perturbation 
giving  rise  to  maniacal  suicide,  there  are  certain  con- 
ditions of  mind,  dependent  upon  acquired  or  hereditary 
disposition,  or  arising  from  a  defective  expansion  of 
the  intellectual  faculties,  which  originate  the  desire 
for  self-destruction. 

Some  idea  of  the  influence  of  certain  mental  states 
ion  the  body  will  be  obtained  by  an  examination  of 
the  various  tables  which  have  been  published  in  this 
land  other  countries  respecting  the  causes  of  suicide, 
as  far  as  they  could  be  ascertained.  Out  of  4337 
suicides  in  London  : — 


Indication  of  Causes. 

Men. 

Women 

Poverty 

905 

511 

Domestic  grief 

728 

524 

Reverse  of  fortune 

322 

283 

Drunkenness  and  misconduct 

287 

208 

Gambling    . 

155 

141 

Dishonour  and  cahunny 

125 

95 

Disappointed  aniHtioii 

122 

410 

TIrief  from  love  '7 

97 

157 

Envy  and  jealousy 

94 

53 

Wounded  seinbve 

53 

63 

Eemorse 

49 

37 

Fanaticism  . 

16 

1 

Misantlirophy 

3 

3 

Causes  unknown  . 

1381 

377 

Total 


4337 


2853 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  149 

Madame  N ,  once  a  famous  dancer  at  the  French 

opera-house,  was  taken  to  task  by  her  husband  for  not 
accjuitting  herself  so  well  in  the  ballet  as  she  usually 
did.  She  exhibited  indications  of  passion  at  the,  as^ 
she  thought,  unmerited  reproof.  When  she  arrived 
home,  she  resolved  to  die,  but  was  much  puzzled  to 
effect  her  purpose.  The  next  morning,  she  purchased 
a  potent  poison,  but  when  she  returned  to  her  home 
she  found  that  her  husband  looked  suspiciously  at  her, 
and  appeared  to  watch  her  movements.  She  then 
made  up  her  mind  to  take  the  fatal  draught  in  the 
evening,  as  she  was  going  in  the  carriage  to  the  opera. 
She  accordingly  did  so ;  the  poison  did  not  have  an 
immediate  action.    The  ballet  commenced,  and  Madame 

N was  led  on  the  stage  ;  and  it  was  not  until  she 

had  commenced  dancing  that  she  began  to  feel  the 
draught  producing  the  desired  effect.  She  complained 
of  illness,  and  was  removed  to  her  dressing-room,  where 
she  expired  in  the  arms  of  her  husband,  confessing 
that  she  had,  in  a  fit  of  chagrin  at  his  rebuke, 
swallowed  poison  ! 

^A  young  gentleman,  of  considerable  promise,  of 
high  natural  and  acquired  attainments,  had  been 
solicited  to  make  a  speech  at  a  public  meeting,  which 
was  to  take  place  in  the  town  in  which  he  resided. 
As  he  had  never  attempted  to  address  extemporane- 
ously a  public  body,  he  expressed  himself  extremely 
nervous  as  to  the  result,  and  asked  permission  to  with- 
draw his  name  from  the  published  list  of  speakers. 
This  wish  was  not,  however,  complied  with,  as  it  was 
thought  that  when  the  critical  moment  arrived  he 
would  not  be  found  wanting  even  in  the  art  of  public 
speaking.     He  had  prepared  himself  with  considerable 


150  MAD  HUMANITY 

care  for  the  attempt.  His  name  was  announced  from 
the  chair,  when  he  rose  for  the  purpose  of  delivering 
his  sentiments.  The  exordium  was  spoken  without 
any  hesitation ;  and  his  friends  felt  assured  that  he 
would  acquit  himself  with  great  credit.  He  had  not, 
however,  advanced  much  beyond  his  prefatory  observa- 
tions, when  he  hesitated,  and  found  himself  incapable 
of  proceeding.  He  then  sat  down,  evidently  exces- 
sively mortified.  In  this  state,  he  retired  to  a  room 
where  the  members  of  the  committee  had  previously 
met,  and  cut  his  throat  with  his  penknife.  He  wounded 
the  carotid  artery,  and  died  in  a  few  minutes. 

In  considering  the  influence  of  mental  causes,  I 
shall,  in  the  first  instance,  point  out  the  effects  of 
certain  passions  and  dispositions  of  the  individual  on 
the  body ;  then  investigate  the  operation  of  education, 
irreligion,  and  certain  unhealthy  conditions  of  the 
mind  which  predispose  the  individual  to  derangement 
and  suicide. 

There  is  no  passion  of  the  mind  which  so  readily 
drives  a  jperson  to  smcide  as  reinorse.  In  these  cases, 
there  is  generally  a  shipwreck  of  all  hope.  To  live 
is  horror ;  the  infuriated  sufferer  feels  himself  an 
outcast  from  God  and  man ;  and  though  his  judgment 
may  still  be  correct  upon  other  subjects,  it  is  com- 
pletely overpowered  upon  that  of  his  actual  distress, 
and  all  he  thinks  of  and  aims  at  is  to  withdraw  with 
as  much  speed  as  possible  from  the  present  state  of 
torture,  totally  regardless  of  the  future. 

"  I  would  not  if  I  could  be  blest, 
I  want  no  other  paradise  but  rest." 

The   most    painfully  interesting    and    melancholy 


SUICIDAL  MADXESS  151 

cases  of  insanity  are  those  in  which  remorse  has 
taken  possession  of  the  mind.  Simon  Brown,  the  dis- 
senting clergyman,  fancied  that  he  had  been  deprived 
by  the  Almighty  of  his  immortal  soul,  in  consequence 
of  having  accidentally  taken  away  the  life  of  a  high- 
wayman, although  it  was  done  in  the  act  of  resistance 
to  his  threatened  violence,  and  in  protection  of  his 
own  person.  Whilst  kneeling  upon  the  wretch  whom 
he  had  succeeded  in  throwing  upon  the  ground,  he 
suddenly  discovered  that  his  prostrate  enemy  was 
deprived  of  life.  This  unexpected  circumstance  pro- 
duced so  violent  an  impression  upon  his  nervous 
system,  that  he  was  overpowered  by  the  idea  of  an 
involuntary  homicide,  and  for  this  imaginary  crime 
fancied  himself  ever  afterw^ards  condemned  to  one  of 
the  most  dreadful  punishments  that  could  be  inflicted 
upon  a  human  being. 

A  young  lady  was  one  morning  requested  by 
her  mother  to  stay  at  home ;  notwithstanding  which, 
she  was  tempted  to  go  out.  Upon  returning  to  her 
domestic  roof,  she  found  that  the  parent  whom  she 
had  so  recently  disobliged  had  expired  in  her  absence. 
The  awful  spectacle  of  a  mother's  corpse,  connected 
with  the  filial  disobedience  which  had  almost  im- 
mediately preceded,  shook  her  reason  from  its  seat, 
and  she  has  ever  since  continued  in  a  state  of  mental 
derangement. 

"  No  disease  of  the  imagination  is  so  difficult  to 
cure  as  that  which  is  complicated  with  the  idea  of 
guilt ;  fancy  and  conscience  then  act  interchangeably 
upon  us,  and  so  often  shift  their  places,  that  the 
illusions  of  one  are  not  distinguished  from  the  dictates 
of  the  other.      If  fancy  presents  images  not  moral  or 


152  MAD  HUMANITY 

religious,  the  mind  drives  them  away  when  they  give 
pain ;  but  when  melancholy  notions  take  the  form  of 
duty,  they  lay  hold  on  the  faculties  without  opposition, 
because  we  are  afraid  to  exclude  or  banish  them."  -^ 

How  accurately  has  the  poet  depicted  the  tortures, 
the  sleeplessness,  of  a  guilty  conscience : — 

"  Though  thy  slumber  may  be  deep, 
Yet  thy  sj)irit  shall  not  sleep  ; 
There  are  shades  which  will  not  vanish, 
There  are  thoughts  thou  canst  not  banish  ; 
By  a  power  to  thee  mikno'svn, 
Thou  canst  never  be  alone  ; 
Thou  art  wrapt  as  with  a  shroud, 
Thou  art  gathered  in  a  cloud  ; 
And  for  ever  shalt  thou  dwell 
In  the  spirit  of  this  spell." 

A  woman  and  her  husband  had  been  employed  in 
a  French  hospital  as  servants  for  a  considerable  time. 
Having  left  their  situations,  the  wife,  thirty  years 
afterwards,  declared  she  heard  a  voice  within  com- 
manding her  to  repair  instantly  to  the  Chief  Com- 
missioner of  police,  and  confess  the  thefts  she  had 
committed  during  the  time  she  was  at  the  hospital 
The  fact  was,  that  she  had  been  guilty  of  appropriating 
occasionally  to  her  own  use  a  portion  of  the  food 
supplied  for  the  patients  attached  to  the  institution. 
The  Commissioner  listened  to  the  woman's  story,  and 
her  demand  that  she  should  be  punished,  but  refused 
to  take  any  cognisance  of  the  offence.  She  returned 
home,  and  for  some  time  was  extremely  dejected. 
She  became  so  miserable  that  existence  was  no  longer 
desirable ;  and  as  the  legal  tribunals  refused  to  punish 

^  Dr.  Johnson's  Puisselas. 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  153 

her,  she  determined  on  suicide,  which  she  committed 
at  the  age  of  fifty-one. 

It  is  admitted,  by  almost  universal  consent,  that 
there  is  no  affection  of  the  mind  that  exerts  so  tre- 
mendous an  influence  over  the  human  race  as  that  of 
love. 

"  To  love,  and  feel  ourselves  beloved," 

is  said  to  constitute  the  height  of  human  happiness. 
This  sacred  sentiment,  which  some  have  debased  by 
the  term  passion,  when  unrequited  and  irregulated, 
produces  the  most  baneful  influence  upon  the  system. 
^ "  A  youthful  passion,  which  is  conceived  and 
cherished  without  any  certain  object,  may  be  com- 
pared to  a  shell  thrown  from  a  mortar  by  night ;  it 
rises  calmly  in  a  brilliant  track,  and  seems  to  mix, 
and  even  to  dwell  for  a  moment  with  the  stars  of 
heaven  ;  but  at  length  it  falls — it  bursts — consuming 
and  destroying  all  around,  even  as  itself  expires." 

From  the  constitution  of  woman,  from  the  peculiar 
position  which  she  of  necessity  holds  in  society,  we 
should,  a  jJTiori,  have  concluded  that  in  her  w^e  should 
see  manifested  this  sentiment  in  all  its  purity  and 
strength.  Such  is  the  fact.  K  A  woman's  life  is  said 
to  be  but  the  history  of  her  affections.  It  is  the  soul 
within  her  soul,  the  pulse  within  her  heart,  the  life- 
blood  along  her  veins,  "  blending  with  every  atom  of 
her  frame."  Separated  from  the  bustle  of  active  life, 
isolated  like  a  sweet  and  rare  exotic  flower  from 
the  world,  it  is  natural  to  expect  that  the  mind 
should  dwell  with  earnestness  upon  that  wdiich  is  to 
constitute  almost  its  very  being,  and  apart  from  which 
it  has  no  existence. 


154  MAD  HUMANITY 

"  Alas  !  the  love  of  woman,  it  is  known 
To  be  a  lovely  and  a  fearful  thing ; 
For  all  of  theirs  upon  that  die  is  thrown ; 
And  if  'tis  lost,  life  hath  no  more  to  bring 
To  them,  but  mockeries  of  the  past  alone." 

Byron. 

The  term  "  broken  heart "  is  not  a  mere  poetical 
imao^e.  Cases  are  recorded  in  which  that  organ  has 
been  ruptured  in  consequence  of  disappointed  love. 
Let  those  who  are  sceptical  as  to  the  fact  that  physical 
disease  so  often  results  from  blighted  affection  visit  the 
wards  of  our  public  and  private  asylums.  In  those 
dreary  regions  of  misery  they  will  have  an  opportunity 
of  witnessing  the  wreck  of  many  a  form  that  was  once 
beauteous  and  happy.  Ask  their  history,  and  you 
will  be  told  of  holy  and  sincere  affection  nipped  in 
the  bud,  of  wild  and  passionate  love  strangled  at  its 
birth,  of  the  death  of  all  human  hopes,  of  a  sever- 
ance from  those  about  whom  every  fibre  of  the  soul 
had  entwined  itself.  Silent  and  sullen  grief,  black 
despair, 

"  And  laughter  loud,  amid  severest  woe," 

are  the   painful  images  that  meet  the  eye  at  every 
step  we  take. 

¥  In  this  country,  the  great  majority  of  the  cases  of 
insanity  among  women  in  our  establishments  devoted 
to  the  reception  of  the  insane  can  clearly  be  traced 
to  unrequited  and  disappointed  affection.  This  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  if  we  consider  the  present 
artificial  state  of  society.  ^  We  make  "  merchandise  of 
love " ;  botK''me'n'''an(r  women  are  estimated,  not  by 
I  their  mental  endowments,  not  by  their  moral  w^orth, 
not  by  their  capacity  of  making  the  domestic  fireside 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  155 

happy,  but  by  the  length  of  their  respective  purses. 
Instead  of  seeking  for  a  heart,  we  look  for  a  dowry. 
Money  is  preferred  to  intellect ;  pure  and  unadul- 
terated affection  dwindles  into  nothingness,  when  placed 
in  the  same  scale  with  titles  and  worldly  honours.        ! 

"And  Mammon  wins  his  way. 
Where  seraphs  might  despair." 

How  little  do  those  who  ought  to  be  influenced 
by  more  elevated  motives  calculate  the  seeds  of 
wretchedness  and  misery  which  they  are  sowing  for 
those  who,  by  nature,  have  a  right  to  demand  that 
they  should  be  actuated  by  other  principles ! 

"  Shall  I  be  won 
Because  I'm  valued  as  a  moneij-hag  ? 
For  that  I  bring  to  him  who  winneth  me,"  ^ 

says  Catherine,  in  the  spirit  of  honest  indignation. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  "  wedlock  joins  nothing, 
if  it  joins  not  hearts." 

How  many  melancholy  cases  of  suicide  can  clearly 
be  traced  to  this  cause  !  Death  is  considered  prefer- 
able to  a  long  life  of  unmitigated  sorrow.  When  the 
heart  is  seared,  when  there  exists  no  "  green  spot  in 
memory's  dreary  waste,"  when  all  hope  is  banished 
from  the  mind,  and  wretched  loneliness  and  desolation 
take  up  their  residence  in  the  heart,  need  it  excite 
surprise  that  the  quiet  and  rest  of  the  grave  is  eagerly 
longed  for  ?  If  a  mind  thus  worked  upon  be  not 
influenced  by  religious  principles,  self-destruction  is 
the  idea  constantly  present  to  the  imagination. 

Of  all   the  sufferings,  however,   to   which  we  are 

^  Love. 


156  MAD  HUMANITY 

exposed  during  our  sojourn  below,  nothing  is  so  truly 
overwhelming  and  irreparable  as  the  death  of  one 
with  whom  all  our  early  associations  are  inseparably 
linked — one  endeared  to  us  by  the  most  pleasing 
recollections.  Death  leaves  a  blank  in  our  existence ; 
a  cold  shuddering  shoots  through  the  frame,  a  mist 
flits  before  our  eyes,  darkening  the  face  of  nature, 
when  the  heart  that  mincrled  all  its  feelinojs  with 
ours  lies,  cold  and  insensible,  in  the  silent  grave. 

As  long  as  life  lasts,  there  is  hope ;  but  death 
snatches  every  ray  of  consolation  from  the  mind. 
The  only  prop  that  supported  us  is  removed,  and  the 
mansion  crumbles  to  the  dust ;  the  mind  becomes 
utterly  and  hopelessly  wrecked.  To  say  that  this  is 
but  the  effect  on  understandings  constitutionally  weak, 
is  to  say  what  facts  will  not  establish.  The  most 
elevated  and  best-cultivated  minds  are  often  the  most 
sensitively  alive  to  such  impressions. 

Few  passions  tend  more  to  distract  and  unsettle 
the  mind  than  that  of  jealousy.^  Insanity  and  suicide 
often  owe  their  origin  to  this  feeling.  One  of  the 
most  terrific  pictures  of  the  dire  effects  of  this  "  green- 
eyed  monster "  on  the  mind  is  delineated  in  the 
character  of  Othello.  In  the  Moor  of  Venice  we 
witness  a  fearful  struggle  between  fond  and  passionate 
love  and  this  corroding  mental  emotion.  Worked 
upon  by  the  villainous  artifices  of  lago,  Othello  is  led 
..to  doubt  the  constancy  of  Desdemona's  affection  uTHe 
very  doubt  urges  him  almost  to  the  brink  of  madness ; 
but  when  he  feels  assured  of  her  guilt,  and  sees  the 
gulf  into  which  he  has  been  hurled,  and  the  utter 
hopelessness  of  his  condition,  he  abandons  himself  to 
despair.      Nothing  whicli   the  master  spirit  of  Shake- 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  157 

speare  ever  penned  can  equal  the  exquisitely  touching 
and  melting  pathos  of  the  speech  of  the  Moor,  when 
he  becomes  perfectly  conscious  of  the  wreck  of  one 
around  whom  every  tendril  of  his  heart  had  indissolubly 
interwoven  itself  ^  To  be  forcibly  severed  from  one 
dearer  to  us  than  our  ow^n  existence  is  a  misfortune 
that  requires  much  philosophy  to  bear  up  against ;  to 
be  torn  from  a  beloved  object  by  death,  to  feel  that 
the  earth  encloses  in  its  cold  embrace  the  idol  of  our 
affections,  freezes  the  heart ;  but  to  be  separated  from 
one  who  has  forfeited  all  claim  to  our  affection  and 
friendship,  and  w^ho  still  lives,  but  lives  in  dishonour, 
must  be  a  refinement  of  human  misery.  Need  we 
then  wonder  that,  when  influenced  by  such  feelings, 
Othello  should  thus  give  expression  to  the  overflowings 
of  his  soul : — 

"  0,  now,  for  ever 
Farewell  the  tranfjiiil  mind  !  farewell  content  ! 
Farewell  the  phimed  troop,  and  the  Ijig  wars, 
That  make  ambition  virtue  !     0,  farewell  ! 
Farewell  the  neighing  steed,  and  the  shrill  trump, 
The  spirit-stirring  drum,  the  ear-piercing  fife, 
The  royal  banner,  and  all  quality, 
Pride,  pomp  and  circumstance  of  glorious  war  ! 
Aud,  0  you  mortal  engines,  whose  rude  throats 
The  immortal  Jove's  dread  clamours  counterfeit, 
Farewell  1      Othello's  occupation  's  gone  !  " 

It  is  under  the  infliction  of  such  a  concentration 
of  misery  that  many  a  mind  is  shattered,  and  that 
death  is  courted  as  the  only  relief  within  its  grasp. 
Othello  having  discovered,  wdien  it  was  too  late, 
that  he  had  wrongly  suspected  Desdemona,  and  had 
sacrificed  the  life  of  the  sweetest  creature  on  earth,  a 
combination  of  passions  drives  him  to  distraction,  and 


158  MAD  HUMANITY 

under  their  influence  he  plunges  the  dagger  into  his 
heart.  Jealousy  was  not,  as  some  have  supposed,  the 
exclusive  cause  of  Othello's  suicide. 

The  great  increase  of  the  crime  of  suicide  has  been 
referred  by  many  able  physicians  of  the  present  day 
to  the  political  excitement  to  which  the  minds  of  the 
people  have  been  exposed  of  late  years.  '^  In  despotic 
countries,  suicide  and  insanity  are  seldom  heard  of; 
the  passions  are  checked  by  the  nature  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  imagination  is  not  elevated  to  an  un- 
healthy standard ;  every  man  is  compelled  to  follow 
the  calling  in  life  to  which  he  is  born,  and  for  which 
he  has  capacity ;  and  on  this  account  the  evil  and 
corrupt  dispositions  of  the  mind  are,  to  a  certain 
extent,  kept  in  abeyance.  ^In  republican  governments, 
the  greatest  latitude  is  allowed  to  the  turbulent 
passions ;  all  mankind  are  theoretically  placed  on  an 
equality ;  the  man  whose  "  talk  is  of  bullocks," 
considers  himself  as  fit  to  carry  on  the  complicated 
business  of  government,  as  he  whose  education, 
associations,  and  experience  tend  to  qualify  him  for 
the  duties  of  a  legislator. 

In  proportion  as  men  are  exposed  to  the  influence 
of  causes  which  excite  the  passions,  so  will  they 
become  predisposed  to  mental  derangement  in  all  its 
forms.  The  French  and  American  Kevolutions  in- 
creased considerably  tlie  crime  of  suicide.  It  has 
been  said  that  dming  the  "  reign  of  terror  "  statistical 
evidence  does  not  show  that  self-murder  was  more 
common  than  at  any  other  period.  Perhaps  the 
alleged  infrequency  of  suicide  may  be  attributed  to 
the  circumstance  of  the  French  people  having  been  so 
busy  in  killing  others  that  they  had  no  time  to  think 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  159 

of  killing  themselves.  More  than  the  average  number 
of  suicides  may  not  have  really  occurred  during  the 
crisis  of  the  Eevolution ;  but  it  is  an  undisputed  fact 
that,  both  before  and  after  that  political  convulsion, 
self  -  destruction  prevailed  to  an  alarming  extent. 
Disappointed  hopes,  wounded  pride  and  vanity,  blighted 
ambition,  loss  of  property,  death  of  friends,  disgust  of 
life,  all  came  into  active  operation  after  the  turbulence 
and  bloodshed  of  the  Eevolution  had  somewhat  sub- 
sided. These  passions,  working  upon  minds  easily 
excited,  and  not  under  the  benign  influence  of  religion, 
it  was  almost  natural  to  expect  that  great  recklessness 
of  life  should  be  exhibited.  Such  facts  demonstrate 
to  us  the  folly  of  uselessly  exciting  the  passions  of 
the  people,  and  raising  in  their  minds  exaggerated 
expectations  from  political  changes. 

There  is  no  more  frequent  cause  of  suicide  than 
visceral  derangement,  leading  to  melancholia  and 
hypochondriasis.  It  has  been  a  matter  of  dispute 
with  medical  men  whether  hypochondriacal  affections 
have  their  origin  in  the  mental  or  physical  portion  of 
the  economy.  Many  maintain  that  the  mind  is  the 
seat  of  the  disease ;  others,  that  the  liver  and  stomach 
are  primarily  affected,  and  the  brain  only  secondarily. 
In  this  disputed  point,  as  in  most  others,  truth  will 
generally  be  found  to  lie  between  the  two  extremities. 
That  cases  of  hypochondria  and  melancholia  can 
clearly  be  traced  to  purely  mental  irritation  cannot 
for  one  moment  be  disputed ;  and  that  there  are  many 
instances  in  which  the  derangement  appears  to  have 
commenced  in  one  of  the  gastric  organs  is  as  equally 
self-evident.  Whatever  may  be  the  origin  of  these 
affections,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  their  producing 


160  MAD  HUMANITY 

most  disastrous  consequences.  Burton's  account  of 
the  horrors  of  hypochondria  is  truly  graphic.  "  As 
the  rain/'  says  Austin,  "  penetrates  the  stone,  so  does 
this  passion  of  melancholy  penetrate  the  mind.  It 
commonly  accompanies  men  to  their  graves.  Physicians 
may  ease,  but  they  cannot  cui-e  it ;  it  may  lie  hid  for 
a  time,  but  it  will  return  again,  as  violent  as  ever,  on 
slight  occasions,  as  well  as  on  casual  excesses.  Its 
humour  is  like  Mercury's  weather-beaten  statue,  which 
had  once  been  gilt,  the  surface  was  clean  and 
uniform,  but  in  the  chinks  there  was  still  a  remnant 
of  gold ;  and  in  the  purest  bodies,  if  once  tainted  by 
hypochondria,  there  will  be  some  relics  of  melancholy 
still  left,  not  so  easily  to  be  rooted  out.  Seldom  does 
this  disease  produce  death,  except  (which  is  the  most 
grievous  calamity  of  all)  when  these  patients  make 
away  with  themselves — a  thing  familiar  enough 
amongst  them,  when  they  are  driven  to  do  violence 
to  themselves  to  escape  from  present  insufferable  pain. 
They  can  take  no  rest  in  the  night,  or,  if  they  slumber, 
fearful  dreams  astonish  them.  Their  soul  abhorreth 
all  meat,  and  they  are  brought  to  death's  door,  being 
bound  in  misery  and  in  iron.  Like  Job,  they  curse 
their  stars,  for  Job  was  melancholy  to  despair,  and 
almost  to  madness.  They  are  weary  of  the  sun,  and 
yet  afraid  to  die,  vivcre  nolunt  ct  mori  ncsciunt.  And 
then,  like  iEsop's  fishes,  they  leap  from  the  frying- 
pan  into  the  fire  when  they  hope  to  be  cured  by 
means  of  physic — a  miserable  end  to  the  disease ; 
when  ultimately  left  to  their  fate  by  a  jury  of 
physicians,  are  furiously  disposed ;  and  there  remains 
no  more  to  such  persons,  if  that  Heavenly  Physician, 
by  His  grace  and  mercy  (whose  aid  alone  avails)  do 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  161 

not  heal  and  help  them.  One  day  of  such  grief  as 
theirs  is  as  a  hundred  years  ;  it  is  a  plague  of  the  sense, 
a  convulsion  of  the  soul,  an  epitome  of  hell ;  and  if 
there  be  a  hell  upon  earth,  it  is  to  be  found  in  a 
melancholy  man's  heart.  No  bodily  torture  is  like 
unto  it ;  all  other  griefs  are  swallowed  up  in  this 
great  Euripus.  I  say  the  melancholy  man  then  is 
the  cream  and  quintessence  of  human  adversity.  All 
other  diseases  are  trifles  to  hypochondria ;  it  is  the 
pith  and  marrow  of  them  all !  V  A  melancholy  man  is 
the  true  Prometheus,  bound  to  Caucasus ;  the  true 
Tityrus,  whose  bowels  are  still  devoured  by  a  vulture." 

A  young  lady,  after  eating  some  heavy  paste,  was 
attacked  by  a  sensation  of  burning  heat  at  the  pit  of 
the  stomach,  which  increased  till  the  whole  of  the 
upper  part  of  the  body,  both  externally  and  internally, 
appeared  to  her  to  be  all  in  flames.  She  rose  up  suddenly, 
left  the  dinner  table,  and  ran  into  the  street,  from 
which  she  was  immediately  brought  back.  She  soon 
came  to  herself,  and  thus  described  her  horrible  ideas. 
She  declared  that  she  had  been  very  wicked,  and  had 
been  dragged  into  the  flames  of  hell.  She  continued 
in  a  precarious  situation  for  some  time.  Whenever 
she  experienced  the  burning  sensation  of  which  she 
first  complained,  the  same  dreadful  thoughts  occurred 
to  her  mind.  She  seized  hold  of  whatever  was  nearest 
to  prevent  her  from  being  forced  away ;  and  such  was 
her  alarm  that  she  dreaded  to  be  alone.  This  lady 
had  long  been  distressed  by  family  concerns,  and 
harassed  by  restless  and  sleepless  nights,  which  greatly 
affected  her  health. 

Dr.  Johnson  used  to  declare  that  he  inherited  "  a 
vile  melancholy "  from  his  father,  which  made  him 

]\i 


162  MAD  HUMANITY 

"  mad  all  his  life,  or,  at  least,  not  sober."  Insanity 
was  his  constant  terror.  Boswell  says  that,  at  the 
period  when  this  great  philospher  was  giving  to  the 
world  proofs  of  no  ordinary  vigour  of  understanding, 
he  actually  fancied  himself  insane,  or  in  a  state  as 
nearly  as  possible  approaching  to  it. 

Murphy  says,  "  For  many  years  before  Johnson's 
death,  so  terrible  was  the  prospect  of  final  dissolution, 
that  when  he  was  not  disposed  to  enter  into  the 
conversation  which  was  going  forward,  he  sat  in  his 
chair  repeating  the  well-known  lines  of  Shakespeare — 

"  To  die,  and  go  we  know  not  where." 

Like  Metastasio,  he  would  not,  if  he  could  help  it, 
permit  the  word  death  to  be  pronounced  in  his 
presence.  Boswell  once  introduced  the  topic  in  the 
course  of  conversation,  which  made  Johnson  highly 
indignant.  He  observed  that  he  never  had  a  moment 
in  which  it  was  not  terrible  to  him. 

Three  or  four  days  before  he  died  he  declared  that 
he  would  give  one  of  his  legs  for  a  year  more  of  life. 
The  ruling  passion  was  exhibited  strong  in  death. 
At  Dr.  Johnson's  own  suggestion,  the  surgeon  was 
making  slight  punctures  in  the  legs,  with  the  hope  of 
relieving  his  dropsical  affection,  when  he  cried  out, 
"  Deeper !  deeper !  /  ivant  length  of  life,  and  you 
are  afraid  of  giving  me  pain,  which  I  do  not  value." 

If  we  had  not  a  thorough  conviction  that  this  fear 
of  death  was  but  the  result  of  physical  disease,  which 
no  moral  and  religious  principles  could  subdue.  Dr. 
Johnson's  conduct  towards  the  end  of  his  life  would 
excite  a  feeling  in  our  mind  towards  him  very  opposite 
to  that  of  respect. 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  I63 

With  reference  to  suicide,  there  is  no  fact  that  has 
been  more  clearly  established  than  that  of  its  heredi- 
tary character.     Of  all  diseases  to  which  the  various 
organs   are   subject,   there   are   none   more   generally 
transmitted   from    one    generation    to    another    than 
affections  of  the  brain.      It  is  not  necessary  that  the 
disposition  to  suicide  should  manifest  itself  in  every 
generation ;  it  often  passes  over  one  and  appears  in 
the   next,   like    insanity   unattended   with    this   pro- 
pensity.    But  if  the  members  of  the  family  so  pre- 
disposed are  carefully  examined,  it  will  be  found  that 
the  various  shades  and  gradations  of  the  malady  will 
be   easily   perceptible.       Some   are   distinguished   for 
their  flightiness  of  manner,  others  for  their  strange 
eccentricity,    likings    and    dislikings,   irregularity    of 
their  passions,  capricious  and  excitable  temperament, 
hypochondriasis   and   melancholia.      These   are   often 
but  the  minute  shades  and  variations  of  a  hereditary 
disposition   to  suicidal  madness.      A  gentleman  sud- 
denly,   and    without    any  apparent    reason,    cut    his 
throat.      The  father  had  always  been  a  man  of  strono- 
passions,  easily  roused,  and  when  so,  was  extremely 
violent.      The   brother   was   a   man   of  impulse ;    he 
always  acted  by  fits  and  starts,  and   therefore  never 
could  be  depended  upon.     The  sister  had  a  strange, 
unnatural,    and    superstitious     horror     of    particufar 
colours  and  odours.     A  yellow  dress  caused  a  feeling 
approaching  to   syncope,  and  the  smell  of  hay  pro"^ 
duced   great   nervous   excitement.       The   grandfather 
had  been  convicted  of  homicide,  and  had  been  con- 
fined for  two  years  in  a  madhouse. 

Andral  relates  the  case  of  a  father  who  died  from 
the  effects  of  disease  of  the  brain ;  the  mother  died 


164  MAD  HUMANITY 

sane.  They  had  six  children — three  boys  and  three 
girls.  Of  the  boys,  the  eldest  was  a  man  of  original 
mind ;  the  second  was  very  extravagant  in  his  habits, 
and  was  ultimately  confined  in  a  madhouse  ;  the  third 
was  extremely  violent  in  his  temper.  Of  the  girls, 
one  had  fits  of  apoplexy,  and  became  insane  ;  the  third 
died  of  cholera,  not,  however,  until  she  exhibited 
indications  of  mental  aberration. 

A  case  more  singular  than  the  last  is  recorded. 
All  the  members  of  a  particular  family,  being  heredi- 
tarily disposed,  exhibited,  when  they  arrived  at  a 
certain  age,  a  desire  to  commit  self-destruction.  It 
required  no  exciting  cause  to  develop  the  fatal  dis- 
position. No  wish  was  expressed,  or  attempt  made, 
to  overpower  the  suicidal  inclination,  and  the  greatest 
industry  and  ingenuity  were  exercised  by  the  parties 
in  order  to  effect  their  purpose.  In  two  cases  the 
propensity  was  subdued  by  proper  medical  and  moral 
treatment ;  but,  just  in  proportion  to  its  being  sup- 
pressed, did  the  idea  of  suicide  appear  to  fix  itself 
resolutely  in  the  mind.  The  desire  came  upon  the 
individuals  like  the  attacks  of  intermittent  fever. 

A.  K.,  a  man  aged  fifty-seven,  was  twice  married. 
He  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  but  not  having  re- 
ceived any  education,  his  wife  was  compelled  to  attend 
to  all  his  accounts.  He  had  experienced,  when  young, 
a  blow  on  the  head,  which  occasionally  gave  him  pain. 
He  became  very  intemperate  in  his  habits,  and  at 
particular  intervals  he  exhibited  an  uncontrollable 
temper,  quarrelled  with  everybody,  neglected  his 
business,  abused  his  wife,  and  became  extravagant  and 
melancholy.  During  the  paroxysm  he  would  exclaim, 
"  Oh,  my  unlucky  head  !     I  am  again  a  lost  man  !  " 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  165 

When  the  attack  subsided  he  returned  to  his  business, 
was  affectionate  to  his  wife  and  family,  most  humbly 
begged  her  pardon  for  having  ill-treated  her,  and  ex- 
pressed the  greatest  contrition  for  his  conduct.  These 
attacks  came  on  at  regular  intervals.  He  procured  a 
piece  of  rope  for  the  purpose  of  hanging  himself,  and 
for  some  months  carried  it  about  with  him  in  his 
pocket  for  that  purpose.  During  one  of  his  fits  he 
effected  his  object.  His  grandfather  had  strangled 
himself,  and  his  brother  and  sister  had  attempted 
suicide. 

Dr.  Gall  knew  several  families  in  which  the  suicidal 
propensity  prevailed  through  several  generations. 
Among  the  cases  he  mentions  is  the  following  very 
remarkable  one : — 

"  The  Sieur  Ganthier,  the  owner  of  various  houses, 
built  without  the  barriers  of  Paris,  to  be  used  as 
entrepots  of  goods,  left  seven  children,  and  a  fortune 
of  about  two  millions  of  francs  to  be  divided  among 
them.  All  remained  at  Paris,  or  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  preserved  their  patrimony ;  some  even  increased 
it  by  commercial  speculations.  None  of  them  met 
with  any  real  misfortunes,  but  all  enjoyed  good  health, 
a  competency,  and  general  esteem.  All,  however, 
were  possessed  with  a  rage  for  suicide,  and  all  seven 
succumbed  to  it  within  the  space  of  thirty  or  forty 
years.  Some  hanged,  some  drowned  themselves,  and 
others  blew  out  their  brains.  One  of  the  first  two 
had  invited  sixteen  persons  to  dine  with  him  one 
Sunday.  The  company  collected,  the  dinner  was 
served,  and  the  guests  were  at  the  table.  The  master 
of  the  house  was  called,  but  did  not  answer ;  he  was 
found    hanging    in    the    garret.       Scarcely   an    hour 


166  ^lAD  HUMAXITY 

before  he  was  quietly  giving  orders  to  his  servants  and 
chatting  with  liis  friends.  The  last,  the  owner  of  a 
house  in  the  Eue  de  Eichelieu,  having  raised  his  house 
two  storeys,  became  frightened  at  the  expense,  imagined 
himself  ruined,  and  was  anxious  to  kill  himself." 

A  common  cause  of  suicide  is  the  feeling  of  false 
pride.  The  only  reason  assigned  for  the  desperate 
act  of  Elizabeth  Moyes — who  threw  herself  from  the 
monument — was  that,  owing  to  the  reduced  circum- 
stances of  her  father  (a  baker),  it  was  determined  that 
she  should  procure  a  situation  at  a  confectioner's  and 
support  herself.  This  she  allowed  to  prey  upon  her 
mind,  although  she  expressed  a  concurrence  in  the 
propriety  of  the  course  suggested.      How  true  it  is — 

"  Abstract  what  others  feel,  what  others  think, 
All  pleasures  sicken,  and  all  glories  sink." 

Pope. 

Owing  to  the  fictitious  notions  abroad  in  society, 
the  ridiculously  false  views  which  are  taken  of  worldly 
honours,  the  ideas  which  a  sickly  sentimentality  in- 
fuses into  the  mind,  this  feeling  is  engendered,  to  an 
alarming  extent,  through  the  different  ranks  of  society. 
This  constitutes  one  great  element  which  is  under- 
mining and  disorganising  our  social  condition.  A 
fictitious  value  is  affixed  to  wealth  and  position  in 
the  world ;  it  is  estimated  for  itself  alone,  all  other 
considerations  being  placed  out  of  view. 

"  None  think  the  great  unhappy  but  the  great." 

Vatcl  committed  suicide  because  he  was  not  able 
to  prepare  as  sumptuous  an  entertainment  as  he 
wished  for  his  guests. 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  167 

One  cannot  conceive  how  this  evil  is  to  be  obviated, 
unless  it  be  possible  to  revolutionise  the  ideas  which 
are  generally  attached  to  fame  and  worldly  grandeur. 
It  is  difficult  to  persuade  such  persons  that  the  end  of 
fame  is  merely — 

''  To  have,  when  the  original  is  dust, 
A  name,  a  wretched  picture,  and  worse  bust." 

There  is  a  nameless,  undefinable  something  that 
the  world  is  taught  to  sigh  after — is  always  in  search 
of;  a  moral  ignis fatuus,  which  is  dazzling  to  lead  it 
from  the  road  which  points  to  true  and  unsophisticated 
happiness. 

Persons  naturally  proud  are  less  able  than  others 
to  bear  up  against  the  distresses  of  life;  they  are 
more  severely  galled  l)y  the  yoke  of  adversity ;  and 
hence  this  passion  often  produces  mental  derangement. 
Such  characters  exhibit  a  morbid  desire  for  praise ;  it 
acts  like  moral  nourishment  to  their  souls;  it  is  a 
stimulus  that  is  almost  necessary  to  their  very  being, 
forgetting  that — 

"  Praise  too  dearly  loved,  or  warndy  sought. 
Enfeebles  all  eternal  weight  of  thought  ; 
Till  the  fond  soul,  within  itself  unblest, 
Leans  for  all  loleasure  on  another'' s  breast." 

It  has  been  said  that  after  tlie  death  of  Josephine, 
and  when  Buonaparte  was  overwhelmed  with  mis- 
fortunes, he  attempted  suicide.  Those  who  consider 
Napoleon  immacidate,  deny  the  accuracy  of  the 
charge.  But  I  give  Sir  Walter  Scott's  account  of 
the  transaction  referred  to.  "Buonaparte,"  he  ob- 
serves, "  belonged  to  the  Eoman  school  of  philosophy, 


168  MAD  HUMANITY 

and  it  is  confidently  reported  by  Baron  Fane,  his 
secretary — though  not  universally  believed — that  he 
designed  to  escape  from  life  by  an  act  of  suicide.  The 
Emperor,  according  to  this  account,  had  carried  with 
him,  ever  since  liis  retreat  from  Moscow,  a  packet 
containing  a  preparation  of  opium,  made  up  in  the 
same  manner  with  that  used  by  Condorcet,  for  self- 
destruction.  His  valet-de-chambre,  in  the  night  of 
the  12th  or  13th  of  April,  heard  him  arise  and  pour 
something  into  a  glass  of  water,  drink,  and  return  to 
bed.  In  a  short  time  afterwards  the  man's  attention 
was  called  by  sobs  and  stifled  groans ;  an  alarm  took 
place  in  the  chateau ;  some  of  the  principal  persons 
were  roused,  and  repaired  to  Napoleon's  chamber. 
Yvan,  the  surgeon  who  had  procured  him  the  poison, 
was  also  summoned ;  but  hearing  the  Emperor  com- 
plain that  the  operation  of  the  potion  was  not  quick 
enough,  he  w^as  seized  with  a  panic  of  terror  and  fled 
from  the  palace  at  full  gallop.  Napoleon  took  the 
remedies  recommended,  and  a  long  fit  of  stupor  ensued, 
with  profuse  perspiration.  He  awakened  much  ex- 
hausted, and  surprised  at  finding  himself  still  alive. 
He  said  aloud,  after  a  few  moments'  reflection,  '  Eate 
will  not  have  it  so,'  and  afterwards  appeared  reconciled 
to  undergo  his  destiny  without  similar  attempts  at 
personal  violence."  Napoleon's  illness  was,  at  the 
time,  imputed  to  indigestion.  A  General  of  the 
highest  distinction  transacted  business  with  Napoleon 
on  the  morning  of  the  13tli  of  April.  He  seemed 
pale  and  dejected,  as  from  recent  and  exhausting  ill- 
ness. His  only  dress  was  a  night-gown  and  slippers, 
and  he  drank,  from  time  to  time,  a  quantity  of  some 
liquid,  which  was  placed   beside  him,  saying  he  had 


SUICIDAL  MADXESS  169 

suffered  severely  during  the  night,  but  that  his  com- 
plaint had  left  him.-^ 

I  cannot  conceive  a  more  piteous  condition  than 
that  of  a  man  of  great  ambition  without  the  powers 
of  mind  which  are  indispensable  for  its  gratification. 
In  him  a  constant  contest  is  going  on  between  an 
intellect  constitutionally  weak  and  a  desire  to  distin- 
guish himself  in  some  particular  department  of  life. 
How  often  a  man  so  unhappily  organised  ends  his 
career  in  a  madhouse,  or  terminates  his  miserable 
existence  by  suicide !  Let  men  be  taught  to  make 
correct  estimates  of  their  own  capabilities,  to  curb  in 
the  imagination,  to  cease  "  building  castles  in  the  air," 
if  we  wish  to  advance  their  mental  and  bodily  health. 
"  Ne  sutor  ultra  crejndam,"  said  Apelles  to  the  cobbler. 
A  young  man  who  "  penned  a  stanza  "  blew  out  his 
brains  because  he  had  failed  in  inducing  a  London 
publisher  to  purchase  an  epic  poem  which  he  had 
written,  and  which  he  had  the  vanity  to  conceive 
was  equal  to  Paradise  Lost,  forgetting  that,  in  order 
to  be  a  poet, — 

"  Nature's  kindhng  breatli 
Must  fire  tlie  clioseii  genius ;  nature's  hand 
Must  string  his  nerves  and  imp  liis  eagle  wings." 

That  this  state  of  mind  predisposes  and  often  leads 
to  the  commission  of  suicide,  numerous  cases  testify. 

Despair  often  drives  men  to  suicide.  The  dread  of 
poverty  and  want ;  the  hopes  in  which  we  often 
injudiciously  place  too  much  of  our  happiness  entirely 
blasted ;  either  honest  or  false  pride  humbled  by 
public  or  private  contempt ;   ambitious  views  suddenly 


1  Life  of  Napoleon,  vol.  viii.  p.  244. 


170  MAD  HUMANITY 

and  unexpectedly  disappointed  ;  pains  of  the  body,  the 
loss  of  those  dear  and  near  to  us,  tend  to  originate 
this  feeling,  and  induce  the  unhappy  person  to  seek 
relief  in  self-murder. 

How  terrible  is  the  situation  of  the  man  exposed 
to  the  influence  of  this  passion,  and  deprived  of  the 
cheering  and  elevating  influence  of  hope !  I  had 
an  opportunity,  some  years  back,  of  witnessing  the 
case  of  a  maniac,  whose  derangement  of  mind  consisted 
in  his  having  abandoned  himself  completely  to  despair. 
He  laboured  under  no  distinct  or  prominent  delusion, 
but  his  mental  alienation  consisted  in  the  total 
absence  of  all  prospect  of  relief.  The  iron  had  entered 
his  very  soul ;  he  appeared  as  if  the  hand  of  a  relent- 
less destiny  had  written  on  the  threshold  of  his  door, 
as  on  the  gate  of  the  Inferno  of  Dante,  the  heart- 
rending sentence,  "  Abandon  all  hope  !  " 

Among  the  causes  which  operate  in  producing  the 
disposition  to  commit  suicide  I  must  not  omit  to 
mention  those  connected  with  erroneous  religious 
notions.  M.  Falret  justly  remarks  that  the  religious 
system  of  the  Druids,  Odin,  and  Mahomet,  by  inspiring 
a  contempt  for  death,  have  made  many  suicides.  The 
man  who  believes  that  death  is  an  eternal  sleep,  scorns 
to  hold  up  against  calamity,  and  prefers  annihilation. 
The  sceptic  also  often  frees  himself  by  self-destruction 
from  the  agony  of  doubting.  The  maxim  of  the 
Stoics,  tliat  man  should  live  only  so  long  as  he  ought, 
not  so  long  as  he  is  able,  is,  we  may  observe,  the  very 
parent  of  suicide.  The  Brahmin,  looking  on  death  as 
the  very  entrance  into  life,  and  thinking  a  natural 
death  dislionourable,  is  eager  at  all  times  to  get  rid 
of   life.       The  Epicureans  and  Peripatetics  ridiculed 


SUICIDAL  MADXESS  171 

suicide,  as  being  death  caused  by  fear  of  death.  M. 
Fah^et,  however,  goes  perhaps  too  far  when  he  asserts 
that  the  noble  manner  in  which  the  gladiators  died  in 
public  not  only  familiarised  the  Eomans  with  death, 
but  rendered  the  thoughts  of  it  rather  agreeable  than 
otherwise. 

Misinterpretations  of  passages  of  Scripture  will 
sometimes  lead  those  who  are  piously  inclined  to 
commit  suicide.  M.  Gillet  hung  himself  at  the  age  of 
seventy-five,  having  left  in  his  own  handwriting  the 
following  apology :  "  Jesus  Christ  has  said  that  when 
a  tree  is  old  and  can  no  longer  bear  fruit  it  is  good 
that  it  should  be  destroyed."  (He  had  more  than 
once  attempted  his  life  before  the  fatal  act.)  I 
heard  of  a  nobleman  who,  for  fear  of  being  poisoned, 
though  he  pretended  it  was  in  imitation  of  our 
Saviour's  fast,  took  nothing  but  strawberries  and 
water  for  three  weeks,  and  these  in  very  moderate 
quantities.  He  never  voluntarily  abandoned  his 
resolution.  He  was  at  length  compelled  to  take  some 
nutriment,  but  not  until  inanition  had  gone  too  far, 
and  he  died  completely  attenuated.  When  sound 
religious  principles  produce  a  struggle  in  the  mind 
which  is  beginning  to  aberrate,  the  contest  generally 
ends  in  suicide. 

Some  murder  themselves  to  get  rid  of  the  horrid 
thoughts  of  suicide ;  whilst  others  brood  over  them, 
like  Eousseau,  for  months  and  for  years,  and  at 
length  perpetrate  the  very  action  which  they  dread. 
A  countryman  of  Eousseau's,  who  advocated  suicide  as 
a  duty,  and  who  spent  the  greater  part  of  a  long  life 
in  writing  a  large  folio  volume  to  prove  the  soundness 
of  his  doctrine,  thought  it  his  duty,  after  he  had  com- 


172  MAD  HUMAXITY 

pleted  his  work,  to  give  a  practical  illustration  of  his 
principles,  and,  accordingly,  at  the  age  of  seventy,  threw 
himself  into  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  and  was  drowned. 

It  may  appear  strange  that  religion,  the  greatest 
blessing  bestowed  by  Heaven  on  man,  should  ever 
prove  a  cause  of  one  of  his  severest  calamities.  But 
perhaps  it  would  be  more  accurate  to  impute  such 
unhappy  effects  to  fanaticism,  or  to  the  total  want  of 
religion. 

Instances  very  frequently  occur  in  practice  in 
which  patients  have  appeared,  some  suddenly,  and 
others  gradually,  to  be  seized  with  a  species  of  religious 
horror,  despairing  of  salvation,  asserting  that  they  had 
committed  sins  which  never  could  be  forgiven,  who 
had  never  previously  appeared  to  be  under  religious 
impressions.  Some  of  these  have  been  visited  by 
divines  of  various  denominations,  and  been  induced  to 
hear  sermons  and  read  books  well  calculated  to  dispel 
gloomy  apprehensions,  and  excite  religious  hope  and 
confidence.  With  some  this  has  succeeded,  especially 
when  conjoined  with  medical  aid ;  but  it  has  been 
observed  that  in  the  cases  of  those  who  have  recovered, 
the  patients  have  emerged  precisely  as  they  immergcd. 

Among  the  causes  of  suicide,  the  foggy  climate  of 
England  has  been  brought  prominently  forward.  The 
specious  and  inaccurate  conclusions  of  Montesquieu  on 
this  point  have  misled  the  public  mind.  The  climate 
of  Holland  is  much  more  gloomy  than  tliat  of  England, 
and  yet  in  that  country  suicide  is  by  no  means 
common.  From  the  following  tabular  statement  we 
see  that  the  popular  notion  of  the  month  of  November 
being  the  "  suicide's  month  "  is  founded  on  erroneous 
data. 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS 


173 


The  average  number  of  suicides  in  each  month  for 
some  years  may  be  taken  to  be  as  follows : — 


January 
February 
March    . 

213 
218 
275 

April     . 
May       . 
June 

374 

328 
336 

July       . 
August  . 
September 
October 

301 
296 

246 
198 

November 

131 

December 

217 

3133 


It  has  been  clearly  established  that  in  all  the 
European  capitals,  when  anything  approaching  to 
correct  statistical  evidence  can  be  procured,  the 
maximum  of  suicide  is  in  the  months  of  June  and 
July,  the  miniiiunn  in  October  and  November. 
Temperature  appears  to  exercise  a  much  more  decided 
influence  than  the  circumstances  of  moisture  and  dry- 
ness, storms  or  serenity.  M.  Villeneuve  has  observed 
a  warm,  humid,  and  cloudy  atmosphere  to  produce 
a  marked  bad  eftect  at  Paris,  and  that  so  long  as 
the  barometer  indicated  stormy  weather  this  effect 
continued.^      Contrary,    how^ever,    to    the    opinion    of 

^  In  1806  upwards  of  60  voluntary  deaths  took  place  at  Rouen 
during  June  and  July,  the  air  being  at  that  time  remarkably  humid 
and  warm  ;  and  in  July  and  August  of  the  same  j^ear  more  than  300 
were  committed  at  Copenhagen,  the  constitution  of  the  atmosphere 
presenting  the  same  characteristics  as  it  did  at  Rouen.  The  year 
1793  presented  in  tlie  town  of  Versailles  alone  the  horrible  spectacle 
of  1300  suicides. 


174  MAD  HUMAXITY 

Yilleueuve,  it  appears  that  by  far  the  fewer  number  of 
suicides  occur  in  the  autumn  and  winter  at  Paris  than 
in  the  spring  and  summer. 

Numher  of  Suicides  for  Seven  Years 

In  spring  .          .          .          .          .997 

In  summer  .....     933 

In  autumn  .          .          .          .          .627 

In  winter  .          .          .          .          .648 

When  the  thermometer  of  Fahrenheit  ranges  from 
80°  to  90°  suicide  is  most  prevalent. 

The  English  have  been  accused  by  foreigners  of 
being  the  heau-ideal  of  a  suicidal  people.  The  charge 
is  almost  too  ridiculous  to  merit  serious  refutation.  It 
has  clearly  been  established  that  whilst  there  is  one 
suicide  in  London  there  are  five  in  Paris.  The 
population  of  Paris  is  nearly  two  millions  less  than 
that  of  London,  and  in  three  years  no  less  than  6900 
suicides  occurred ;  an  average  of  nearly  1800  per 
annum.  Out  of  120,000  persons  who  insured  their 
lives  in  one  of  the  London  Insurance  Companies,  the 
number  of  suicides  in  twenty  years  was  only  1 5  ;  so 
much  for  the  English  being  par  excellence  disposed  to 
suicide. 

The  causes  which  frequently  lead  to  self-destruction 
in  France  are,  defective  religious  education,  ennui,  and 
loss  at  dice  or  cards.  In  considering  the  circumstances 
which  produce  this  disparity  in  the  number  of  volun- 
tary deaths  in  the  two  countries,  we  must  bear  in  mind 
the  moral  and  religious  habits  of  the  people.  When 
Christianity  is  not  acknowledged  as  a  matter  of  vital 
importance  in  the  affairs  of  man ;    when  morality  is 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  175 

considered  only  as  a  conventional  term,  conveying  no 
definite  idea  to  the  mind,  it  is  natural  that  there 
should  exist,  corelative  with  this  tone  of  feeling,  a 
marked  recklessness  of  human  life.  Some  notion  may 
be  formed  of  the  state  of  religious  feeling  in  Paris 
when  we  are  informed  of  the  existence  in  the  French 
metropolis  of  a  "  society  for  the  mutual  encouragement 
of  suicide,"  all  the  members  of  which,  on  joining  it, 
swear  to  terminate  their  existence  by  their  own  hands 
when  life  becomes  insupportable. 

Alluding  to  the  peculiarities  of  the  French  people, 
particularly  their  indifference  to  human  life,  an  eminent 
writer  observes,  speaking  of  their  notions  of  suicide, 
that  a  Frenchman  asks  you  to  see  him  "  go  off,"  as  if 
death  were  a  place  in  the  malle  poste.  "  Will  you  dine 
with  me  to-day  ? "  said  a  Frenchman  to  a  friend. 
"  With  the  greatest  pleasure ;  yet,  now  I  think  of  it, 
I  am  particularly  engaged  to  shoot  myself  ;  one  cannot 
get  off  such  an  engagement."  This  is  not  the  suicide 
a  la  mode  with  us.  We  ape  at  no  such  extra  civilisa- 
tion and  refinement.  We  can  be  romantic  without 
blowing  out  our  brains.  English  lovers  do  not,  when 
"  the  course  of  true  love  "  does  not  run  smooth,  retire 
to  some  sequestered  spot,  and  rush  into  the  next  world 
by  a  brace  of  pistols  tied  with  cherry-coloured  ribbons. 
When  we  do  shoot  ourselves,  it  is  done  with  true 
English  gravity.  It  is  no  joke  with  us.  We  have  no 
inherent  predilection  for  the  act,  no  "  hereditary 
imperfection  of  the  nervous  juices,"  as  Montesquieu, 
with  all  the  impudence  and  gravity  of  a  philosopher, 
asserts,  forcing  us  to  commit  suicide.  "  Life,"  said  a 
man  who  had  exhausted  all  his  external  sources  of 
enjoyment,  and  had  no  internal  ones  to  fly  to,  "  has 


176  MAD  HUMANITY 

given  me  a  headache,  aud  I  want  a  good  sleep  in  the 
churchyard  to  set  me  to  rights  " ;  to  procure  which, 
he  deliberately  shot  himself.^ 

Suicide  is  not  an  offence  that  can  be  deemed  cog- 
nisable by  the  civil  magistrate.  It  is  to  be  considered 
a  sinful  and  vicious  action.  To  punish  suicide  as  a 
crime  is  to  commit  a  solecism  in  legislation.  Tlie 
unfortunate  individual,  by  the  very  act  of  suicide, 
places  himself  beyond  the  vengeance  of  the  law ;  he 
has  anticipated  its  operation ;  he  has  rendered  him- 
self amenable  to  the  highest  tribunal,  viz.  that  of  his 
Creator ;  no  penal  enactments,  however  stringent,  can 
affect  him.  What  is  the  operation  of  the  law  under 
these  circumstances  ?  A  verdict  of  felo  de  se  is  re- 
turned, and  the  innocent  relations  of  the  suicide  are 
disgraced  and  branded  with  infamy,  and  that,  too,  on 
evidence  of  an  ex  parte  nature.  It  is  unjust,  inhuman, 
unnatural,  and  unchristian,  that  the  law  should  punish 
the  innocent  family  of  the  man  who,  in  a  moment  of 
frenzy,  terminates  his  own  miserable  existence.  It 
was  clearly  established  that,  before  the  alteration  in 
the  law  respecting  suicide,  the  fear  of  being  buried  in 
a  cross-road,  and  having  a  stake  driven  through  the 
body,  had  no  beneficial  effect  in  decreasing  the  number 

^  This  was  Philip  Mordaiiut,  cousin-germau  to  the  celebrated  Earl 
of  Peterborough,  so  well  known  to  all  European  courts,  and  who 
boasted  of  having  seen  more  postilions  and  kings  than  any  other 
man.  Mordaunt  was  young,  handsome,  of  noble  blood,  highly  edu- 
cated, and  beloved  by  those  who  knew  him.  He  resolved  to  die. 
Preparatory  to  his  doing  so  he  wrote  to  his  friends,  paid  his  debts, 
and  even  made  some  verses  on  the  occasion.  He  said  his  soul  was 
tired  of  his  body,  and  when  we  are  dissatisfied  Avith  our  abode,  it  is 
our  duty  to  quit  it.  He  put  a  pistol  to  his  head  and  bleAv  out  his 
brains.  An  uninterrupted  course  of  good  fortune  was  the  only  motive 
that  could  be  assigned  for  this  suicide. 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  177 

of  suicides  ;  and  the  verdict  oi  felo  cle  se,  now  occasion- 
ally returned,  is  productive  of  no  advantage  whatever, 
and  only  injures  the  surviving  relatives. 

When  a  man  contemplates  an  outrage  of  the  law, 
the  fear  of  the  punishment  awarded  for  the  offence 
may  deter  him  from  its  commission  ;  but  the  unhappy 
person  wdiose  desperate  circumstances  impel  him  to 
sacrifice  his  own  life  can  be  influenced  by  no  such 
fear.  His  whole  mind  is  absorbed  in  the  considera- 
tion of  his  own  miseries,  and  he  even  cuts  asunder 
those  ties  that  ought  to  bind  him  closely  and  tenderly 
to  the  world  he  is  about  to  leave.  If  an  affectionate 
wife  and  endearing  family  have  no  influence  in  de- 
terring a  man  from  suicide,  is  it  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  he  will  be  influenced  by  penal  laws  ? 

If  the  view  which  I  have  taken  of  the  cause  of 
suicide  be  a  correct  one,  no  stronger  argument  can  be 
urged  for  the  impropriety  of  bringing  the  strong  arm 
of  the  law  to  bear  upon  those  who  court  a  voluntary 
death.  In  the  majority  of  cases  it  will  be  found  that 
some  heavy  calamity  has  fastened  itself  upon  the 
mind,  and  the  spirits  have  been  extremely  depressed. 
The  individual  loses  aU  pleasure  in  society ;  hope 
vanishes,  and  despair  renders  life  intolerable,  and 
death  an  apparent  relief.  The  evidence  which  is 
generally  submitted  to  a  coroner's  jury  is  of  necessity 
imperfect ;  and  although  the  suicide  may,  to  all  appear- 
ance, be  in  possession  of  his  right  reason,  and  have 
exhibited  at  the  moment  of  killing  himself  the  greatest 
calmness,  coolness,  and  self-possession,  this  would  not 
justify  the  coroner  or  jury  in  concluding  that  derange- 
ment of  mind  was  not  present. 

If  the   mind   be   overpowered   by   grief,  sickness, 

N 


178  UAT>  HUMAXITY 

infirmity,  or  other  accident,  the  law  presumes  the 
existence  of  insanity.  Any  passion  that  powerfully 
exercises  the  mind  and  prevents  the  reasoning  faculty 
from  performing  its  duty  causes  temporary  derange- 
ment. It  is  not  necessary,  in  order  to  establish  the 
presence  of  insanity,  to  prove  the  person  to  be  labour- 
ing under  a  delusion  of  intellect — a  false  creation  of 
the  mind.  A  man  may  allow  his  imagination  to 
dwell  upon  an  idea  until  it  acquires  an  unhealthy 
ascendency  over  intellect,  and  in  this  way  a  person 
may  commit  suicide  from  an  habitual  belief  in  the 
justifiableness  of  the  act. 

If  a  man,  by  a  distorted  process  of  reasoning, 
argues  himself  into  the  conviction  of  the  propriety  of 
adopting  a  particular  course  of  conduct,  without  any 
reference  to  the  necessary  result  of  that  train  of 
thought,  it  is  certainly  no  evidence  of  his  being  in 
possession  of  a  sound  mind.  A  person  may  reason 
himself  into  a  belief  that  murder  under  certain 
circumstances,  not  authorised  by  law,  is  perfectly  just 
and  proper.  The  circumstance  of  his  allowing  his 
mind  to  reason  on  the  subject  is  a  prima  facie  case 
against  his  sanity.  At  least  it  demonstrates  a  great 
weakness  of  the  moral  constitution.  A  man's  morals 
must  be  in  an  imperfect  state  of  development  who 
reasons  himself  into  the  conviction  that  self-murder 
is  under  any  circumstances  justifiable. 

I  have  dwelt  at  some  length  on  this  subject, 
because  I  feel  assured  that  juries  do  not  pay  sufficient 
attention  to  the  influence  of  passion  in  overclouding 
the  understanding.  If  the  notion  that  in  every  case 
of  suicide  the  intellectual  or  moral  faculties  are  per- 
verted, be  generally  received,  it  wiU  at  once  do  away 


SUICIDAL  MADNESS  179 

with  the  verdict  of  felo  de  se.     Should  the  jury  enter- 
tain a  doubt  as  to  the  presence  of  derangement  (and 
such  cases  may  present  themselves),  it  is  their  duty,  in 
accordance  with   the  well-known  principle  of  British 
jurisprudence,  to  give  the  person  the  benefit  of  that 
doubt;    and   thus   a   verdict  of  lunacy  may  be  con- 
scientiously returned  in  every  case  of  this  description. 
I  trust  I  have  clearly  established  that  no  penal 
law  can  act  beneficially  in  preventing  self-destruction, 
first,  because   it   would  punish   the  innocent   for   the 
crimes  of  the  guilty ;    and,  secondly,  that,  owing  to 
insanity  being  present  in  every  instance,  the  person 
determined  on  suicide  is  indifferent  as  to  the  conse- 
quences  of  his  action.      I   am   no   opponent   to   the 
diffusion   of  knowledge,   but   I  am   to   that   descrip- 
tion of  information  which  has  only  reference  "  to  the 
life  that  is,  and  not  to  that  which  is  to  be."     Such  a 
system  of  instruction  is  of  necessity  defective,  because 
it  is  partial  in  its  operation.      Teach  a  man  his  duty 
to  God,  as  well  as  his  obligations  to  his  fellow-men ; 
lead  him  to  believe  that  his  life  is  not  his  own ;  that 
disappointment  and  misery  is  the  penalty  of  Adam's 
transgression,  and  one  from  which  there  is  no  hope  of 
escaping;   and,  above  all,  inculcate  a  resignation  to 
the  decrees  of  Divine  Providence.     When  life  becomes 
a  burden,  when  the  mind  is  sinking  under  the  weight 
of  accumulated  misfortimes,  and   no   gleam   of  hope 
penetrates  through   the  vista  of  futurity  to  gladden 
the  heart,  the  intellect  says:  "Commit  suicide,  and 
escape  from  a  world  of  wretchedness  and  woe  " ;  the 
moral  principle  says :  "  Live,  it  is  your  duty  to  bear, 
with  resignation,  the  afflictions  that  overwhelm  you ; 
let  the  moral  influence  of  your  example  be  reflected 


180  MAD  HUMAXITY 

in   the    characters  of  those  by  whom  you  are    sur- 
rounded." 

If  we  are  justified  in  maintaining  that  the  majority 
of  the  cases  of  suicide  result  from  a  vitiated  condition 
of  the  moral  principle,  then  it  is  certainly  a  legitimate 
mode  of  preventing  the  commission  of  the  offence  to 
elevate  the  character  of  man  as  a  moral  being.  It  is 
no  legitimate  argument  against  the  position  to  main- 
tain that  insanity,  in  all  its  phases,  marches  side  by 
side  with  civilisation  and  refinement ;  but  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  a  people  may  be  refined  and  civilised, 
using  these  terms  in  their  ordinary  signification,  who 
have  not  a  just  conception  of  their  duties  as  members 
of  a  Christian  community.  Let  the  education  of  the 
heart  go  side  by  side  with  the  education  of  the  head ; 
inculcate  the  ennobling  thought  that  we  live  not  for 
ourselves,  but  for  others ;  that  it  is  an  evidence  of 
true  Christian  courage  to  face  bravely  the  ills  of  life, 
to  bear  with  impunity  "  the  whips  and  scorns  of  time, 
the  oppressor's  wrong,  and  the  proud  man's  contumely," 
and  we  disseminate  principles  which  will  give  expan- 
sion to  a  crime  alike  repugnant  to  all  human  and 
divine  laws. 

"And  makes  us  ratlier  Lear  tlie  ills  we  have, 
Than  fly  to  others  that  we  know  not  of." 


CHAPTEE    VII 

CRIMINAL    MADNESS 

Criminal  Insanity. — The  connection  between  crime 
and  insanity  is  so  close  that  its  consideration  has 
occupied  the  attention  of  psychologists  and  jurists 
for  many  years. 

It  was  the  crowning  feature  of  my  revered  father's 
life  to  establish  in  England  a  "  plea  of  insanity  in 
criminal  cases."  In  the  year  1843  he  published  a 
little  brochure  on  the  subject,  at  that  time  but  little 
appreciated  and  understood.  At  the  trial  of  Mac- 
iSTaughten  for  the  murder  of  Mr.  Drummond  in  the  year 
1845,  he  was  present  in  court  during  the  hearing  of  the 
case,  but  only  as  a  spectator,  and  had  not  been  sum- 
moned by  either  side  as  a  witness.  It  being,  however, 
mooted  about  that  he  was  there,  the  judge  ordered 
him,  of  his  own  accord,  into  the  witness  box,  as  being 
the  author  of  the  little  treatise  to  which  I  have  just 
referred.  After  hearing  his  evidence  in  favour  of  the 
lunatic.  Lord  Chief-Justice  Tindal  interposed  and 
stopped  the  case,  ruling  that  the  evidence  of  my  father 
proved  beyond  doubt  the  existence  of  mental  aliena- 
tion sufiBlcient  to  justify  the  acquittal  on  the  ground 
of  insanity.     From   that  time  the  "  plea  of  insanity  " 


182  MAD  HUMANITY 

became  fully  recognised  in  England,  but  the  case  of 
MacNaughten  is  the  one  quoted  by  the  judges  on  all 
occasions,  and  the  one  we  have  for  precedent  at  the 
present  day. 

The  opposition  which  he  had  to  encounter  before 
he  got  this  plea  established  is  well-nigh  incredible, 
save  to  those  who  know  how  conservative  our  lawyers 
are,  how  jealous  they  manifest  themselves  of  any 
intrusion  on  their  prerogatives,  and  also  how  unthink- 
ing and  unreasonable,  for  the  most  part,  public  opinion 
is  when  its  feelings  are  strongly  excited.  There  is  a 
well-known  jealousy  between  doctors  and  lawyers,  and 
I  am  glad  to  say  that  there  are  those  in  my  profession 
to  be  found  well  able  to  hold  their  own  in  any  court 
of  law,  be  the  pleader  the  great  Attorney-General 
himself,  and  who  are  not  intimidated  by  any  bullying, 
or  by  the  terrible  demeanour  and  voice  of  any  lawyer. 
The  medical  expert  is  simply  doing  his  duty.  I 
remember  in  a  case  in  which  I  was  engaged  I  was 
addressed  by  the  Crown  prosecutor  as  follows  : — "  Dr. 
Winslow,  I  presume  you  get  a  good  fee  for  coming 
here."  My  reply  was  as  short,  as  it  was  to  the 
purpose.  "  Sir,"  said  I,  addressing  him  by  name,  "  a 
doctor  has  as  much  right  to  his  fee  as  a  lawyer." 
"  Oh,  you  think  so,"  replied  the  advocate.  "  Yes,  I  do," 
I  rejoined,  and  down  sat  the  terrible  representative 
of  the  law  amidst  the  suppressed  laughter  in  court. 
I  got  the  man  off  being  hung,  and  that  was  my  sole 
wish. 

Non  compos  mentis,  according  to  Lord  Coke,  is  of 
three  kinds : — 

"  1st.  Idiota,  who  from  his  nativity,  by  a  perpetual 
infirmity,  is  non  compos  mentis. 


CRIMIXAL  MADNESS  183 

"  2nd.  He  that  by  sickness,  grief,  or  other  accident, 
wholly  loses  his  memory  and  understanding. 

"  3rd.  A  lunatic  that  sometimes  has  understanding 
and  sometimes  not ;  aUqtcando  gcmdet  hicidis  inter- 
vallis ;  and  therefore  is  called  non  compos  as  long  as 
he  hath  not  understanding." 

Lord  Coke,  when  speaking  of  the  irresponsibility 
of  lunatics,  and  in  alluding  to  the  object  of  all 
punishment,  viz.  the  prevention  of  crime,  says,  "  Ut 
poena  ad  paucos,  metus  ad  omnes  perveniat ;  but  so  it 
is  when  a  madman  is  executed,  and  should  be  a 
miserable  spectacle,  both  against  law,  and  of  extreme 
inhumanity  and  cruelty,  and  can  be  no  example  to 
others."  ^ 

The  views  of  Lord  Chief- Justice  Mansfield,  as 
developed  at  the  trial  of  Bellingham,  for  the  murder 
of  Mr.  Percival,  on  this  subject,  were  as  follows : 
On  the  plea  of  insanity  in  criminal  cases.  Lord  Mans- 
field said :  "  The  law  was  extremely  clear.  If  a  man 
was  deprived  of  all  power  of  reasoning,  so  as  not  to 
be  able  to  distinguish  whether  it  was  right  or  wrong 
to  commit  the  most  wicked  or  the  most  innocent 
transaction,  he  could  not  certainly  commit  an  act 
ao-ainst  the  law.  Such  a  man,  so  destitute  of  all 
power  of  judgment,  could  have  no  intention  at  all. 
In  order  to  support  this  defence,  however,  it  ought  to 
be  proved  by  the  most  distinct  and  unquestionable 
evidence  that  the  criminal  w^as  incapable  of  judging 
between  right  or  wrong.  It  must,  in  fact,  be  proved, 
beyond  all  doubt,  that  at  the  time  he  committed  the 
atrocious  act  with  which  he  stood  charged  he  did  not 
consider  murder  was  a  crime  against  the  laws  of  God 

1  Coke,  Inst.  6. 


184  MAD  HUMANITY 

and  nature.  There  was  no  other  proof  of  insanity 
which  could  excuse  murder  or  any  other  crime. 
There  were  various  species  of  insanity.  Some 
human  creatures  were  void  of  all  power  of  reason- 
ing from  their  birth ;  such  could  not  be  guilty  of  any 
crime.  There  was  another  species  of  madness  in 
which  persons  were  subject  to  temporary  paroxysms, 
in  which  they  were  guilty  of  acts  of  extravagance ; 
this  was  called  lunacy.  If  these  persons  committed  a 
crime  when  they  were  not  affected  with  the  malady, 
they  were,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  amenable  to 
justice.  So  long  as  they  could  distinguish  good  from 
evil,  so  long  would  they  be  answerable  for  their 
conduct.  There  was  a  third  species  of  insanity  in 
which  the  patient  fancied  the  existence  of  injury,  and 
sought  an  opportunity  of  gratifying  revenge  by  some 
hostile  act.  If  such  a  person  was  capable,  in  other 
respects,  of  distinguishing  right  from  wrong,  there 
was  no  excuse  for  any  act  of  atrocity  that  he  might 
commit  under  this  description  of  derangement.  The 
witnesses  who  had  been  called  to  support  this  extra- 
ordinary defence  had  given  a  very  singular  account, 
in  order  to  show  that  at  the  time  of  the  commission 
of  the  crime  the  prisoner  was  insane.  What  might 
have  been  the  state  of  his  mind  some  time  ago  was 
perfectly  immaterial.  The  single  question  was  whether 
at  the  time  tliis  act  was  committed  he  possessed  a 
sufficient  degree  of  understanding  to  distinguish  good 
from  evil,  right  from  wrong,  and  whether  murder  was 
a  crime  not  only  against  the  laws  of  God,  but  the  law 
of  his  country." 

The  next  legal  authority  to  which  I  shall  refer  is 
tliat  of  Lord  Erskine.     That   distinguished  judge,  in 


CRIMINAL  MADNESS  185 

his  celebrated  speech  on  the  trial  of  Hadfield,  for 
firing  at  George  III., — a  speech  that  lias  been  pro- 
nounced to  be  one  of  the  most  masterly  he  ever 
delivered  in  a  court  of  justice, — enters  at  some 
length  into  an  elucidation  of  criminal  insanity. 
Lord  Erskine  considers  the  dicta  of  Lord  Coke  and 
Lord  Hale,  that  to  protect  a  man  from  criminal 
responsibility  there  must  be  a  "  total  deprivation  of 
memory  and  understanding,"  as  untenable,  if  we  are 
to  attach  to  the  words  used  by  these  great  lawyers 
a  literal  signification.  Delusion,  where  there  is  no 
frenzy.  Lord  Erskine  conceives  to  be  the  true  character 
of  insanity.  Where  this  cannot  be  predicated  of  a 
man  accused  of  a  criminal  offence,  he  ought  not  to  be 
acquitted.  "  If  the  courts  of  law,"  observes  Lord 
Erskine,  "  are  to  be  governed  by  any  other  principle, 
every  departure  from  sober  rational  conduct  would  be 
an  emancipation  from  criminal  justice."  He  again 
sa3^s :  "  To  deliver  a  lunatic  from  responsibility  to 
criminal  justice,  the  relation  between  the  disease  and 
the  act  should  be  apparent.  When  the  connection  is 
doubtful,  the  judgment  should  certainly  be  most 
indulgent,  from  the  great  difficulty  of  diving  into  the 
secret  sources  of  a  disordered  mind.  Viewed,  however, 
as  a  principle  of  law,  the  delusion  and  act  should  be 
connected."  Lord  Erskine  then  proceeds  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  doctrine  that  every  person,  who 
has  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  whatever  delusions 
may  overshadow  the  mind,  ought  to  be  responsible  for 
crimes.  He  considers  that  there  is  something  too 
general  in  this  mode  of  viewing  the  subject. 

There  is  a  vast  difference  between  civil  and  criminal 
law  as  regards  persons  of  unsound  mind.     A  person 


186  MAD  HUMANITY 

may  suffer  from  various  delusions,  he  may  imagine 
that  he  is  the  king  of  England,  or  that  he  is  destined 
to  rule  the  world,  or  that  he  is  possessed  of  large 
properties,  or  that  he  is  on  the  verge  of  ruin,  when 
there  is  no  foundation  for  such  ideas.  He  may  be 
the  victim  of  most  extravagant  delusions,  but  at  the 
same  time  he  may  know  the  difference  between  right 
and  wrong,  and  therefore  he  does  not  come  under  the 
definition  of  lunacy  as  defined  by  the  Criminal  Code, 
though  he  can  be  certified  according  to  the  civil  law, 
and  confined  as  a  person  of  unsound  mind  in  an 
asylum.  The  criminal  law  absolutely  requires  that, 
in  order  to  establish  the  plea  of  insanity  in  a  criminal 
case,  the  culprit  must  know  the  distinction  between 
right  and  wrong,  a  monstrous  dictum,  but  which,  how- 
ever, exists  at  the  present  day,  and  is  made  use  of  by 
every  judge  whose  duty  it  is  to  sum  up  a  case  before 
a  jury.  This  is  clearly  and  distinctly  pleaded  by  the 
judge.  "  If  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,"  says  the  judge, 
"  was  conscious  of  the  act  at  the  time  that  he  would 
kill  the  individual,  and  knew  the  difference  between 
right  and  wrong,  you  are  called  upon  to  find  him 
guilty."  This  in  face  of  the  fact  that  he  may  be 
absolutely  insane,  and  subject  to  various  delusions 
which  would  justify  his  being  placed  in  an  asylum, 
or  would  justify  a  commission  being  held  and  his 
property  duly  protected  by  the  court.  This  rule, 
which  was  laid  down  in  the  case  of  MacNaughten,  to 
which  I  have  alluded,  remains  the  same  at  the  present 
day,  and  no  wonder  that  those  experienced  in  the 
treatment  and  management  of  the  insane  should  rebel 
against  such  extraordinary  law  in  this  advanced  age. 
Though  the  prisoner  may  be  found  thus  legally  guilty, 


CRIMINAL  MADNESS  187 

he  is  not  so  morally ;  and  often  a  subsequent  appeal 
finds  attention  before  the  authorities  to  whose  notice 
it  is  brought,  though  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  overrule 
a  verdict  of  a  jury,  as  may  be  proved  by  those  who 
have  had  to  deal  with  such  cases.  Fresh  evidence 
has  to  be  obtained,  and  it  is  very  rarely,  after  a 
condemnation  to  death,  that  the  Home  Office  will 
permit  a  further  medical  examination  of  those  repre- 
senting the  criminal. 

With  reference  to  the  legal  doctrine  of  right  and 
wrong,  as  applied  to  cases  of  alleged  insanity,  I 
suggest  no  metaphysical  objection.  I  use  the  words 
in  their  admitted  and  recognised  legal  acceptation. 
The  word  ivrong,  as  a  learned  judge  once  observed, 
is  "  that  which  the  law,  and  not  that  which  the 
iwisoner  considers  wrong." 

Eight  and  wrong,  when  applied  to  special  circum- 
stances, are  arbitrary  terms  susceptible  of  conflicting 
interpretations.  It  has  been  well  observed  that 
murder  is  a  crime  made  up  of  circumstances. 
Homicide  may  be  felonious  or  culpable,  justifiable, 
and  even  meritorious,  according  to  the  motive  leading 
to  the  commission  of  the  act.  The  motive  must  be 
deduced  from  circumstances.  The  terms  right  and 
wrong  are  so  ambiguous  that  a  judge  may  attach  one 
meaning  to  them,  a  witness  another,  a  juryman  a 
third,  and  the  prisoner  differ  from  them  all.  It  is 
questionable  whether  the  English  language  could 
produce  two  words  so  incapable  of  uniformity  of 
construction  as  those  of  right  and  wrong,  when  applied 
to  criminal  cases  of  insanity. 

If  the  doctrine  of  right  and  wrong  be  admitted  as 
a  legal  test,  and  acted  upon  as  a  principle  of  law,  it 


188  MAD  HUMANITY 

would,  owing  to  the  essential  difference  in  the 
character  of  the  cases  of  insanity  to  which  it  would 
be  applied,  be  partial,  restricted,  and  circumscribed  in 
its  operation. 

According  to  the  dicta  of  the  learned  judges  as 
propounded  in  the  House  of  Lords,  a  person  labouring 
under  partial  insanity,  who  acts  under  circumstances 
of  excited  passion  as  he  would  conduct  himself  if  he 
were  of  perfectly  sound  mind,  is  legally  responsible 
for  his  actions,  and  if  found  guilty  liable  to 
punishment. 

It  would  be  obviously  a  grave  error  to  consider  a 
person  legally  responsible  for  offences  committed  under 
the  influence  of  a  delusion  based  upon  a  pure  creation 
of  the  disordered  fancy,  having  no  kind  of  foundation 
in  fact ;  but  does  the  converse  hold  true  ? 

In  considering  this  section  of  the  subject,  it  is 
essential  that  we  should  fully  appreciate  the  fact  that 
it  is  one  of  the  well-known  characteristics  of  insanity, 
for  I  will  not  refer  in  detail  to  the  conflicting  doctrines 
of  responsibility  which  have  at  different  periods  been 
laid  down  by  the  Bench,  for  the  existence  of  such 
conflict  of  opinion  was  candidly  admitted  by  Lord 
Campbell  in  the  House  of  Lords  when  he  said,  "  he 
had  looked  into  all  the  cases  that  had  occurred  since 
Arnold's  trial  in  1723,  and  to  the  direction  of  the 
judges  in  the  case  of  Lord  Ferrers,  Bellingham, 
Oxford,  Francis,  and  MacNaughten,  and  he  must  be 
allowed  to  say  that  there  was  a  wide  difference  of 
opinion,  both  in  meaning  and  in  ivords,  in  this  de- 
scription of  the  law."  The  principle  of  law,  as  ex- 
pounded in  1843  by  the  judges  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  and  which  has  never  been  altered,  appears  to 


CRIMINAL  MADNESS  189 

me  (without  quoting  the   decision  at   length)  to   be 
enhanced  in  the  following  propositions  : — 

(1)  A  Person  labouring  under  partial  delusions 
only,  and  who  is  not  in  other  respects  insane, 
notwithstanding  he  commits  a  crime,  under  the 
influence  of  the  insane  delusion  that  he  is  redressing 
or  revenging  some  supposed  grievance  or  injury,  or 
producing  some  public  beneiat,  is  liable  to  punish- 
ment if  he  knew  at  the  time  of  committing  such 
crime  that  he  was  acting  contrary  to  the  law  of  the 
land. 

(2)  To  establish  a  defence  on  the  ground  of 
insanity  it  must  be  clearly  proved  that  at  the  time 
of  the  committing  of  the  act  the  party  accused  was 
labouring  under  such  a  defect  of  reason  from  disease 
of  the  mind  as  not  to  know  the  nature  and  quality 
of  the  act  he  was  doing. 

(3)  If  a  person  under  a  partial  delusion  only,  and 
not  in  other  respects  insane,  commits  an  offence  in 
consequence  thereof,  he  is  to  be  considered  in  the 
same  situation  as  to  responsibility  as  if  the  facts  with 
respect  to  which  the  delusion  exists  were  real. 

These  rules  of  law  in  relation  to  offences  committed 
in  an  alleged  condition  of  insanity  suggest  for  con- 
sideration : — 

(1)  The  diction  of  partial  delusions  in  their  legal 
relation  to  crimes  committed  by  persons,  in  other 
respects  sane,  under  an  insane  idea  of  redressing  a 
real  injury  or  revenging  some  supposed  grievance. 

(2)  The  legal  doctrine  of  partial  insanity. 

(3)  The  knowledge  of  right  and  wrong  viewed  as 
conclusive  evidence  of  responsibility  in  cases  of  imputed 
insanity. 


190  MAD  HUMANITY 

There  is  the  extravagance  of  thought  and  conduct 
exhibited  in  many  cases  of  unrecognised  and  dangerous 
insanity ;  but  with  positive  creations  of  the  morbid 
fancy,  with  delusive  images  leading  the  person  to 
believe  that  a  certain  thing  existed  which  no  sane 
person  would  believe  to  exist,  and  which,  in  reality, 
had  no  existence  apart  from  himself  and  his  dis- 
tempered imagination,  would  confirm  the  lunacy.  In 
the  majority  of  cases  the  premonitory  stage  of  insanity 
is  evidenced  by  some  palpable  disorder  of  the  affections, 
temper,  propensities,  moral  sense,  character,  and  conduct 
of  the  individual.  This  may  exist  for  a  long  period 
before  any  positive  aberration  of  the  mind  is  recognised. 

Delusions  may  not  exist  in  the  early  stage  of  mental 
derangement.  The  poison  of  insanity,  if  I  may  use 
the  term,  seizes  hold  of  the  moral  powers  of  the  mind, 
and  the  disease  often  rims  its  course  without  obviously 
deranging  the  ideas  or  imagination. 

I  next  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  homicidal 
insanity,  and  those  forms  of  deranged  mind  which  are 
said  to  incite  the  person  to  commit  crime  under  the 
influence  of  what  is  termed  an  "  irresistible  impulse." 

Within  a  very  recent  period  the  term  homicidal 
insanity  has  been  repudiated  by  the  Bench,  a  learned 
judge  having  requested  a  counsel,  pleading  at  the 
Central  Criminal  Court  in  favour  of  a  person  indicted 
for  murder  in  whose  defence  the  excuse  of  insanity 
was  urged,  never  to  use  such  a  phrase  again  in  a  court 
of  law  !  This  moots  the  question,  Is  there  such  a  form 
of  mental  disease  ? 

The  terms  homicidal  monomania,  blind  and  irre- 
sistible impulse,  are,  I  admit,  open  to  grave  objections 
and  to  serious  abuse.     Of  the  existence  of  a  type  of 


Monomania  with  Hallucinations  of  Seeing,  1,  2,  3.     Monomania  with 
Melancholia.  4,  5.     Folie  Haisoxaxte,  or  Reasoning  Madness,  6. 

The  photograph  of  the  patient  sutfering  from/o?ic  raisonantc  here  given  is  most  typical 
of  the  complaint.  The  peculiar  expression  and  general  argumentative  appearance 
of  the  individual  is  most  characteristic  in  eveiy  respect. 


CRIMINAL  MADNESS  191 

insanity  without  delirium,  or  apparent  delusion,  sud- 
denly manifesting  itself  and  impelling  its  miserable 
victims  to  destroy  those  nearest  and  dearest  to  them, 
there  cannot  be  a  question.  There  are  other  cases 
(and  such  will  he  found  in  most  large  lunatic  asylums) 
in  which  the  mind  of  the  patient  appears  to  be 
absorbed  with  one  horrible  homicidal  idea,  that  beino- 
the  predominant  and  characteristic  symptoms  of  the 
mental  alienation.  A  case  is  recorded  in  a  French 
journal  of  a  man  whose  state  of  mind  was  made  the 
subject  of  judicial  investigation  in  France,  who  for 
twenty-six  years  was  haunted  by  an  intense  desire  to 
destroy  human  life. 

In  speaking  of  homicidal  insanity,  have  medical 
writers  and  jurists  been  indulging  in  some  discursive 
flight  of  fancy  ?  Is  homicidal  insanity  a  myth — a  pure 
medical  fiction  ?  Of  the  existence  of  a  type  of  mental 
disorder  associated  with  a  morbid  craving,  and  at  times 
irresistible  impulse,  to  destroy  human  life  without  any 
motive,  apparent  derangement,  or  impairment  of  the 
reasoning  powers  there  can  be  no  question.  The  evi- 
dence in  support  of  this  form  of  insanity  is  overwhelm- 
ing and  undeniable.  The  name  selected  as  descriptive 
of  the  disease  is,  I  think,  an  unfortunate  one,  but 
this  does  not  affect  the  point  at  issue. 

The  question  of  mental  responsibility  is  an  im- 
portant one.  There  are  degrees  of  insanity,  but  there 
exists  a  popular,  but  a  very  erroneous,  notion  that  a 
man  must  be  violent  or  dangerous  to  himself  or  others 
for  the  plea  of  insanity  to  be  raised.  If  we  admit  in 
its  entirety  the  present  ruling  of  the  judges,  that  if  a 
man  who  commits  a  crime  and  knows  the  difference 
between  right  and  wrong,  that  though  insane,  he  is  a 


192  MAD  HUMANITY 

proper  subject  for  the  executioner,  we  at  once  hand 
over  to  this  functionary  all  persons  of  unsound  mind, 
except  idiots,  imbeciles,  and  acutely  maniacal  persons, 
who  from  their  condition,  or  ravings,  are  unconscious  of 
the  gravity  of  their  acts.  Some  years  ago  I  put  this 
matter  to  some  practical  test.  I  questioned  twenty 
chronic  lunatics  who  entertained  fixed  delusions.  I 
asked  them  what  would  happen  if  they  were  to  cut  my 
throat.  Every  one  was  sane  enough  to  reply  that  the 
result  would  be  fatal,  and  that  they  would  have  done 
an  illegal  act.  One  replied,  "  I  should  kill  you,  but  I 
should  not  be  hung,  because  I  am  a  lunatic  "  ;  and  yet, 
if  we  admit  the  doctrine  of  right  and  wrong  as  our 
legal  test  of  insanity,  all  these  poor  hopeless  and 
chronic  lunatics  are  legally  responsible.  Such  appears 
to  me  to  be  a  monstrous  absurdity. 

A  man  may  be  pronounced  by  a  jury  to  be  mad 
who,  if  they  had  been  summoned  on  a  civil  action,  or 
a  commission  of  lunacy,  to  decide  whether  he  was 
capable  of  managing  his  property  and  himself,  would 
have  pronounced  as  to  the  mental  unsoundness,  yet 
the  same  evidence  adduced  at  a  criminal  trial  would 
have  handed  him  over  to  the  indignities  of  the  scaffold. 
Such  is  our  law,  and  any  reasonable  and  sensible 
person  must  exclaim  that  it  is  most  unsatisfactory 
and  most  unjust.  Surely  our  knowledge  must  have 
advanced  sufficiently  during  the  present  century  to 
enable  our  Legislature  to  frame  one  law  dealing  with 
both  civil  and  criminal  lunatics.  Our  judges  appear 
not  to  have  settled  views  on  the  matter,  and  this  has 
doubtless  arisen  from  the  endeavour  to  define  in- 
sanity and  its  degrees.  It  cannot  be  defined ;  it  is 
surrounded  with   so  much   obscurity  that  no  single 


CRIMINAL  MADNESS  193 

definition  can  embrace  the  whole  subject.      Shakespeare 
has  truly  said — 

"  To  define  true  madness, 
What  is  it,  to  be  nothing  else  but  mad  ? " 

With  the  impossibility  of  our  arriving  at  a  defini- 
tion embracing  the  whole  question,  how  abortive  our 
attempt  must  be  to  establish  any  rule  by  which  we 
can  test  in  any  one  individual  case  the  absence  of 
moral  responsibility.  The  judges  are  bound  by  the 
duty  of  their  office  to  state  what  is  the  law  of  the 
land,  and  as  such  we  must  accept  it  in  all  its  imper- 
fections and  nakedness.  It  has  been  judicially  stated 
that  the  consideration  of  insanity  is  not  a  question 
for  lawyers  or  medical  experts,  but  that  it  is  a 
question  for  the  ordinary  individual.  The  British  jury, 
however  conscientious,  however  good  and  just,  with  a 
full  desire  to  administer  justice,  are  certainly,  as  a 
rule,  most  ignorant  in  lunacy  matters.  It  is  naturally 
as  difficult  for  them  to  express  an  opinion  on  some  in- 
tricate and  abstruse  mental  points,  as  it  would  be  for  a 
jury  of  doctors  or  lawyers  to  give  their  opinion  on  the 
quality  of  cloth,  silk,  or  any  other  matter  on  which  it 
may  be  presumably  imagined  they  know  but  little.  A 
jury  are  enabled,  from  evidence  placed  before  them,  to 
establish  the  innocence  or  guilt  of  any  person,  but  if 
their  services  are  required  beyond  this  in  questions  of 
scientific  natures,  they  are  asked  to  do  what  is  quite 
impossible.  At  least  that  is  the  way  in  which  I 
regard  the  subject. 

I  feel  confident  that  this  is  a  serious  blot  in  our 
Legislature,  the  trial  of  alleged  lunatics  by  unscien- 
tific, and  sometimes   uneducated,  men  who   are  sum- 

0 


194  MAD  HUMANITY 

moned  as  jurymen.  Points  must  arise  involving 
questions  of  the  most  vital  issue,  and  these  are  both 
conspicuous  and  prominent.  What  are  required, 
according  to  my  views,  are  medical  experts  or  asses- 
sors to  assist  the  jury  in  their  deliberations.  These 
gentlemen  should  be  nominated  by  the  Government, 
and  they  would  render  most  valuable  aid  in  placing 
before  the  jury  the  proper  facts  upon  which  they  are 
called  upon  to  decide.  Every  case  which  comes  before 
a  jury  proves  that  I  am  right  in  this  statement.  So 
obscure  is  the  line  of  demarcation  between  sanity  and 
insanity  that  they  are  miable  to  define  this  limit  and 
border-line.  A  case  occurred  some  time  ago,  when  a 
prisoner  named  Mullens  was  indicted  for  the  murder  of 
an  official  of  the  Board  of  Trade;  the  learned  judge,  in 
summing  up,  stated  that  "  it  is  not  sufficient  excuse  to 
justify  you  in  acquitting  a  prisoner  on  the  ground  of 
insanity,  that  he  might  have  illusions  on  a  particular 
matter."  This  ruling  is  now  universally  followed  by 
the  judges. 

In  the  recent  case  of  Prince,  tried  for  the  murder 
of  Mr.  Terriss,  this  ruling  was,  however,  apparently 
deviated  from.  The  jury  here  found  that  he  "  was 
conscious  of  the  gravity  of  his  act  and  its  conse- 
quences " ;  but  because  he  had  some  obscure  delusions, 
and  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  eccentricity  in  his 
previous  conduct,  that,  though  conscious  of  his  acts, 
he  was  regarded  as  insane  in  the  eye  of  the  law.  I 
should  think  this  the  first  and  only  case  on  record  where 
such  an  opinion  has  been  given  by  a  British  jury,  and 
more  than  ever  endorses  my  previous  views  on  the 
trial  of  alleged  lunatics  by  an  ordinary  jury.  It  might 
also  have  been  argued  at  this  trial  (but  it  was  not) 


CRIMINAL  MADNESS  195 

that,  if  considered  to  be  non  compos  nieiiiis  at  tlie  time 
of  trial,  he  could  not  plead. 

In  the  case  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Dodwell,  and  in  whose 
case  I  was  engaged,  now  a  criminal  lunatic  at  Broad- 
moor, who  was  tried  for  shooting  an  unloaded  pistol  in 
the  face  of  the  Master  of  the  EoUs,  he  was  not  allowed 
to  plead,  being  regarded  as  a  lunatic,  and  why  Prince 
was  not  treated  in  the  same  way  remains  a  mystery. 
In  my  opinion,  the  verdict  of  the  jury  proved  that  he 
was  responsible  for  his  actions,  and  his  being  allowed 
to  plead  confirms  this  opinion. 

Constance  Kent,  tried  for  the  Eoad  murder,  was  at 
first  acquitted,  but  subsequently,  on  the  confession 
made  to  her  father  confessor,  she  was  found  guilty. 
Of  her  innocence  I  have  not  the  least  doubt,  and  I 
believe  that  her  confession  was  made  in  consequence 
of  some  insane  creation  of  her  mind,  from  always 
brooding  over  the  tragedy,  this  acting  deleteriously  on 
her  insane  imagination,  fostered  by  the  recollection  of 
the  dreadful  past,  and  what  she  had  already  gone 
through.  Confessions  wrung  from  those  who  may 
presumably  be  supposed  to  be  of  weak  intellect  and 
irresponsible  for  their  actions  must  be  regarded  with 
much  doubt  and  incredibility.  Frequently  their  dis- 
eased imagination  will  of  itself  make  the  individual 
believe  that  he  has  been  the  actual  murderer,  and  to 
such  an  extent  that  frequently  he  will  give  himself  up 
to  justice  on  his  own  confession.  Some  judges  ignore 
the  term  monomania,  notwithstanding  that  most  cases 
of  homicide  and  suicide  are  the  results  of  this  form  of 
mental  disorder. 

The  majority  of  persons  suffering  from  homicidal 
monomania  are  apparently  so  rational  upon  all  other 


196  MAD  HUMANITY 

su]:)jects.  Our  criminal  asylums  are  replete  with  such 
individuals.  They  are  considered  as  both  dangerous 
and  incurable. 

Some  time  ago  it  was  found  necessary  to  hold  an 
inquiry  into  the  mental  condition  of  some  celebrated 
person  in  order  to  protect  his  estate.  So  great  was 
the  importance  of  the  issue  that  the  Lord  Chancellor 
of  the  epoch  I  write  agreed  to  investigate  the  case 
himself.  He  spent  two  whole  evenings  with  the 
alleged  lunatic,  dining  with  him  at  his  own  house. 
After  his  interviews  he  expressed  himself  as  to  sanity. 
One  of  the  expert  witnesses  engaged  in  the  case,  how- 
ever, asked  to  be  allowed  to  accompany  him  at  a  fm-ther 
visit. 

"  Ask  him,"  says  the  doctor,  "  what  he  thinks  of 
the  world  ?  "  The  answer  was  :  "  The  world,  why  I 
made  it  myself,  and  all  you  are  my  creatures." 

The  late  Samuel  Warren,  a  Master  in  Lunacy, 
always  got  assistance  in  his  investigations  by  having 
one  or  more  expert  witnesses  with  him,  and  I  was 
often  employed  in  that  capacity. 

Lord  Hale  says  there  is  a  partial  insanity  of  mind 
and  a  total  insanity. 

What  is  partial  insanity  in  its  strictly  legal  signi- 
fication ?  Lord  Lyndhurst,  who  took  a  more  philo- 
sophic view  of  the  subject  of  partial  insanity,  thus 
defined  it.  He  says :  "  The  mind  is  not  unsound  on 
one  point  only,  and  sound  in  all  other  respects,  but 
this  unsoundness  manifests  itself  principally  with 
reference  to  some  particular  object  or  person."  But 
other  authorities  use  the  term  partial  insanity  in  a 
much  more  restricted  sense,  and  synonymously  with 
the  type   of  mental   disease  called  "  monomania,"  or 


CRIMINAL  MADNESS  197 

delusion  upon  one  prominent  topic,  or  directed  to  one 
particular  person.  If  the  fact  of  a  man  being  a 
criminal  is  prima  facie  evidence,  not  of  his  being 
insane,  but  of  his  having,  if  not  a  predisposition  to 
mental  derangement,  at  least  a  very  irregular,  ill- 
governed,  and,  it  may  be,  an  unhealthy  mind.  This 
irregularity  of  mental  operation — this  perversion  of 
the  moral  principle — is  often  associated  with  latent 
insanity ;  is  frequently  but  one  of  the  many  phases 
which  the  minds  of  those  assume  who  are  hereditarily 
predisposed  to  mental  alienation.  A  man  is  not 
necessarily  insane  because  he  is  guilty  of  an  atrocious 
crime  ;  but  the  tendency  to  crime  is  often  so  repeatedly 
connected  with  deranged  conditions  of  the  mind,  that 
common  humanity  would  induce  us  to  inquire  whether 
the  criminal  offence  is  not  the  first  overt  act  of 
insanity. 

A  woman  suddenly  jumps  up  from  the  breakfast- 
table,  and  endeavours  to  precipitate  herself  from  the 
window.  She  is  prevented  from  doing  so.  A  case  of 
this  description  came  under  my  personal  observation  a 
few  months  ago.  To  her  family  and  friends  she  had 
given  no  previous  indications  of  insanity.  She  was 
calm,  collected,  and  rational  in  conversation ;  apparently 
her  ideas  were  not  even  perverted.  She  engaged 
zealously  in  the  more  active  duties  of  life ;  in  foct, 
she  was  treated  and  considered  as  a  person  in  posses- 
sion of  her  full  normal  faculties.  The  attempt  on  her 
life  was  thw^arted,  but  from  that  moment  she  gave 
unequivocal  indications  of  a  mind  greatly  disturbed. 
She  became  from  that  time  a  furious  lunatic,  though 
apparently  the  attempt  at  suicide  was  the  first  indica- 
tion of  her  condition.     Had  this  girl  succeeded  in  her 


198  MAD  HUMANITY 

attempt  at  taking  her  life  a  verdict  oifelo  de  se  might 
with  justice  have  heen  recorded,  and  doubtless  would. 
This  case  brings  to  my  recollection  a  trial  which  took 
place  a  few  years  ago  called  "  The  Old  Kent  Murder," 
where  a  poor  wretch  was  tried  at  the  Central  Criminal 
Court  for  the  murder  of  his  wife.  He  had  also  made  a 
desperate  attempt  on  his  own  life  by  cutting  his  throat 
with  a  razor,  and  had  this  gone  a  fraction  of  an  inch 
farther  he  would  have  taken  his  miserable  life,  a 
verdict  of  suicide  and  murder  whilst  in  a  state  of 
insanity  would  have  been  given,  and  he  w^ould  have 
been  saved  the  wretched  fate  which  was  in  store  for 
him,  a  death  at  the  hands  of  the  public  executioner. 
But  because  he  failed  in  his  double  mission  of  murder 
and  suicide  he  was  tried,  convicted,  and  hanged.  After 
the  commission  of  the  crime,  he  was  sent  to  one  of  our 
large  hospitals,  and  there  under  surgical  skill  he  was 
saved,  but  to  meet  a  felon's  death.  It  was  one  of  the 
first  murder  trials  in  which  I  was  engaged,  and  it 
made  a  great  impression  upon  me  at  the  time.  I  say 
most  positively  and  emphatically  that  had  he  accom- 
plished the  attempt  on  his  own  life  the  jury  would 
not  have  hesitated  to  pronounce  for  the  insanity.  The 
man  was  mad  to  a  degree,  and  papers  in  his  possession 
proved  this ;  if  ever  a  judicial  murder  was  committed 
here  was  one ;  I  should  indeed  be  sorry  to  have  the 
responsibility  of  advising  in  such  a  case  that  the  law 
should  take  its  course.  I  examined  him  in  his  cell  ad- 
joining the  dock  during  the  adjournment  for  lunch  ;  in 
consequence  of  the  hole  in  his  throat  not  being  properly 
healed,  he  could  not  take  his  food  without  lying  in  a 
recumbent  posture.  If  there  ever  was  a  cruel  ending  to 
a  wretch's  life  this  stands  out  prominently  as  one.   We 


CRIMINAL  MADNESS  199 

may  reason,  and  rightly  too,  that  an  extremely  vicious 
propensity,  or  act,  may  be  the  commencement  or  pre- 
monitory signs  of  madness,  and  of  this  I  have  not  the 
least  doubt,  and  that  it  is  so  in  many  cases  which  are 
brought  to  our  knowledge.  As  mental  aberration 
often  manifests  itself  in  acts  which  the  law  considers 
criminal,  as  crime  is  so  frequently  associated  with 
derangement  of  mind,  and  with  a  constitution  pre- 
disposed to  insanity,  it  becomes  the  sacred  duty  of  the 
Legislature  to  protect  criminals  from  being  exposed  to 
the  influence  of  agents  known  both  to  generate  dis- 
orders of  the  mind,  and  to  develop  these  affections  in 
persons  constitutionally  liable  to  them.  The  time,  I 
trust,  is  not  very  remote  when  more  philosophical, 
and,  as  a  sequence,  more  liberal  views,  will  be  taken 
of  those  actions  designated  criminal ;  and  when,  with- 
out exhibiting  any  maudlin  sentimentality  towards 
those  who  violate  the  conditions  which  bind  society 
together,  we  shall,  in  the  spirit  of  our  common 
Christianity,  look  with  greater  leniency  on  the  faults 
and  failings  of  our  fellow-men. 

Experience  clearly  proves,  forcibly  establishes,  the 
painful  fact,  that  there  is  in  existence  a  large  amount 
of  crime  closely  connected  by  hereditary  predisposition 
and  descent  with  diseased  mind.  Does  not  a  recogni- 
tion of  this  truth  establish  to  us  as  Christian  philo- 
sophers the  necessity  of  cultivating  more  benevolent 
feelings,  a  more  enlarged  and  expansive  philanthropy 
towards  those  who,  if  not  morbidly  impelled  to  the 
commission  of  crime  by  an  originally  malformed 
cerebral  organisation,  inherit  from  their  parents  a 
marked  predisposition  to  irregularity  of  thought  and 
action,  which  ought  to  appeal — powerfully  appeal — to 


200  MAD  HUMAXITY 

US  when  estimating  the  degree  of  moral  guilt  attached 
to  any  deviation  from  our  a  2^riori  notions  of  healthy 
intellect,  or  strict  moral  rectitude  ?  I  maintain,  and 
facts — an  overwhelming  mass  of  fects — clearly,  irre- 
sistibly, and  conclusively  demonstrate  my  position, 
that  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  crime  committed  by 
persons  who,  if  not  "  legally  "  or  "  medically  "  insane, 
occupy  a  kind  of  neutral  ground  between  positive 
derangement  and  mental  sanity.  I  do  not  broach 
this  idea  with  a  view  of  supporting  the  absurd,  un- 
philosophical,  and  dangerous  opinion  that  cell  crime  is 
more  or  less  referable  to  aberration  of  mind ;  but  I  do 
affirm  that,  in  estimating  the  amount  of  punishment 
to  be  awarded,  it  is  the  solemn  duty  of  the  judge  and 
jury  not  to  look  at  the  act  itself,  but  to  consider  the 
'physical  condition  of  the  culprit — his  education,  moral 
advantages,  prior  social  position,  his  early  training,  the 
temptations  to  which  he  has  been  exposed,  above  all, 
whether  he  has  not  sprung  from  intemperate,  insane, 
idiotic,  or  criminal  parents. 

"  The  little  I  have  seen  of  the  world,"  says  an  able 
writer,  with  a  capacious  heart,  overflowing  with  love  for 
his  fellow-creatures,  "and  know  of  the  history  of  mankind 
teaches  me  to  look  upon  the  errors  of  others  in  sorrow, 
and  not  in  anger.  When  I  take  the  history  of  one  poor 
heart  that  has  sinned  and  suffered,  and  represent  to  my- 
self the  struggles  and  temptations  it  has  passed  through 
— the  brief  pulsations  of  joy,  the  feverish  inquietude 
of  hope  and  fear,  the  tears  of  regret,  the  feebleness  of 
purpose,  the  pressure  of  want,  the  desertion  of  those 
near  and  dear,  the  scorn  of  the  world  that  has  little 
charity,  the  desolation  of  the  soul's  sanctuary,  and 
threatening  voices  from  within,  health  gone,  happiness 


CRIMINAL  MADNESS  201 

gone,  even  hope,  that  stays  longest  with  us,  gone, — I 
have  little  heart  for  aught  else  than  thankfulness  that 
it  is  not  so  with  me,  and  would  fain  leave  the  erring 
soul  of  my  fellow-man  with  Him  from  whose  hands  it 
came." 

In  venturing  to  discuss  this  question  I  would,  in 
conclusion,  protect  myself  from  the  imputation  of 
giving  utterance  to — of  breathing  the  faintest  sem- 
blance of — an  expression  that  w^ould  justify  a  doubt 
as  to  the  existence  in  my  mind  of  a  feeling  of  deep 
reverence  and  profound  respect  for  those  great  and 
illustrious  men,  whose  unrivalled  erudition,  brilliant 
attainments,  fervid,  glowing,  impassioned  eloquence, 
world-wide  reputation,  whose  universally  acknowledged 
public  and  private  worth  are  closely  identified,  and 
indissolubly  associated,  wdth  the  brightest  and  most 
hallowed  periods  of  the  constitutional,  parliamentary, 
and  legal  history  of  our  country.  But  as  time  rolls 
on,  so  does  knowledge  and  progress  in  the  study  of 
psychology  make  like  advances ;  the  more  the  subject 
is  studied,  the  more  do  w^e  become  conscious  of  the 
great  truths  of  medical-psychology,  we  obtain  a  clearer 
insight  into  the  phenomena  of  the  human  mind,  and 
are  more  intimately  acquainted  with  its  morbid  states, 
and  consequently  we  entertain  more  lucid  views, 
and  more  benevolent,  just,  philosophical,  and  enlight- 
ened ideas  of  the  great  subject  of  crime,  and  of  the 
principles  of  civil  and  constitutional  law.  Can  we 
set  bounds,  prescribe  limits — easily  appreciable  and 
well-defined  limits — to  the  progress  of  knowledge  ? 
Have  we  not  within  the  last  half-century  made  giant 
and  colossal  strides  in  all  departments  of  art,  philo- 
sophy, and    science  ?     Does  not   the   genius  of  man 


202  MAD  HUMAXITY 

indignantly  repudiate  all  attempts  to  fetter  its  onward 
advance,  and  tie  it  down  to  the  crude,  exploded,  and 
obsolete  dogmas  of  past  ages  ?  If  such  be  the  fact  in 
relation  to  the  mathematical  and  physical  sciences — 
to  chemistry,  medicine,  physiology,  mechanics,  and 
political  and  social  economy — why,  I  ask,  should  the 
great  subject  under  consideration  be  the  only  ex- 
ception to  the  general  law  regulating  human  pro- 
gression ? 

Whilst  referring  to  the  great  intellects,  and 
master  minds  of  former  epochs,  as  well  as  to  the 
illustrious  men  of  a  more  recent  period,  may  we 
not  exclaim — 

"  Great  men  were  living  before  Agamemnon, 
And  since,  exceeding  valorous  and  brave  !  " 

I  cannot  do  better  than  conclude  this  chapter  in 
the  words  of  my  father  from  his  Opus  Magnum  on 
"  Obscure  Diseases  of  the  Brain  and  Disorders  of  the 
Mind."  Alluding  to  the  subject,  he  says :  "  A  man 
commits  a  murder.  He  is  tried  for  the  crime.  The 
plea  of  insanity  is  raised  in  his  defence,  upon  what  is 
conceived  to  be  sound  evidence  of  the  existence  of 
mental  derangement  at  the  time  of  the  murder.  The 
attempt  thus  made  to  protect  the  criminal  immediately 
rouses  public  indignation.  Such  an  excuse  is  not 
in  many  instances  listened  to,  and  the  unfortunate 
medical  witnesses,  who  have  been  called  upon  to  exer- 
cise an  important  and  often  thankless  duty  in  support 
of  the  plea,  arc  exposed,  for  giving  an  honest  expression 
of  opinion,  to  the  most  unmeasured  ridicule  and  vitu- 
peration. In  defending  the  memory  of  the  suicide 
from  the  disgrace  that  woukl  accompany  a  verdict  of 


CRIMINAL  MADNESS  203 

felo  de  se,  the  evidence  of  the  medical  man,  proving 
the  insanity,  is  regarded  with  great  respect  and 
treated  with  profound  deference ;  but  in  his  effort  to 
save  a  hmatic  from  the  agonies  of  a  painful  death 
upon  the  scaffold,  on  evidence  much  stronger  than  was 
adduced  before  the  previously-mentioned  court,  the 
expert  is  exposed  to  unmitigated  abuse.  Instead  of 
being  considered  as  an  angel  of  mercy  engaged  in  the 
exercise  of  an  holy  and  righteous  mission,  he  is  viewed 
with  suspicion,  and  often  treated  with  contumely,  as 
if  he  were  attempting  to  sacrifice  instead  of  to  save 
human  life.  Again,  the  attempt  to  prove  sanity  and 
mental  capacity  at  a  Commission  of  Lunacy,  with  the 
object  of  preserving  intact  the  liberty  of  the  subject, 
and  establishing  his  right  to  an  unfettered  manage- 
ment of  his  property,  is  applauded  to  the  very  echo ; 
but  any  endeavour  to  excuse,  on  the  plea  of  insanity, 
the  crime  of  some  unhappy  wretch  alleged  to  be  an 
irresponsible  lunatic,  in  order  to  rescue  him  from 
penal  servitude,  or  from  the  hands  of  the  executioner, 
is  denounced  in  unqualified  language  as  a  most 
monstrous,  unjustifiable,  and  iniquitous  interference 
with  the  course  of  justice.  The  excuse  of  insanity 
will  not,  in  many  cases,  under  these  circumstances,  be 
tolerated  by  a  portion  of  the  press.  The  public  mind 
is  violently  shocked  at  the  commission  of  a  horrible 
and  brutal  murder ;  the  act  is  viewed  as  one  of  great 
and  barbarous  atrocity,  apart  altogether  from  its  con- 
comitant extenuating,  medico-psychological,  considera- 
tions. The  cry  is  raised  for  '  xengeance!  The  shout 
is  an  '  eye  for  an  eye,'  '  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,'  '  blood 
for  blood ' ;  forgetting,  in  the  paroxysm  of  indignant 
emotion  and  frenzy  of  excited  feeling,  engendered  by 


204  MAD  HUMANITY 

the  contemplation  of  a  dreadful  violation  of  the  majesty 
of  the  law,  that  justice  must  be  tempered  with  divine 
merey  which  sanctifies  and  enshrines  " — 

"  The  tlironM  monarch  better  than  his  crown, 
And  is  the  attribute  of  God  Himself" 


CHAPTER    VIII 

HALLUCINATIONS    OF    HEARING    AND    SEEING,    AND    THE 
CONSEQUENCES 

So  many  crimes  are  committed,  whilst  labouring  under 
the  hallucinations  of  hearing  imaginary  voices,  that  I 
have  thought  a  few  of  the  leading  cases  in  which  this 
was  apparent,  and  which  have  come  under  my  personal 
observation,  might  prove  of  interest.  Many  of  the 
victims  to  such  hallucinations  fancy  the  voices  speak 
to  them,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  or  perhaps 
through  walls  or  doors,  telling  them  to  do  certain 
things.  They  often  think  that  they  are  addressed  by 
name,  and  that  they  are  accused  of  certain  crimes,  and 
are  urged  to  commit  murder  or  suicide.  The  words 
"  Kill  the  man,  kill  yourself,"  are  words  which  often 
the  unhappy  patient  ftmcies  are  addressed  to  him,  and 
he  frequently  attempts  to  carry  out  the  advice  given 
him. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous  symptoms  met 
with  in  insanity,  hearing  and  obeying  voices,  and  our 
lunatic  asylums  contain  many  persons  who  hear  such 
voices  and  obey  them,  be  the  directions  ever  so 
horrible,  from  a  conviction  that  they  are  bound  to 
do  so. 


206  MAD  HUMANITY 

Hypersesthesia  of  hearing  is  often  a  frequent 
symptom  of  approaching  mental  derangement.  In 
the  earlier  stages  the  patient  often  complains  of  great 
sensorial  activity.  He  sees  what  no  other  person  can 
see,  he  hears  what  no  other  person  can  hear. 

AVlien  the  mind  is  losing  its  balance,  in  the  in- 
cipient stage  of  insanity,  the  patient  will  be  heard  to 
ask  rather  anxiously  of  those  about  him,  "  Did  you 
not  speak  ?  Did  you  not  hear  a  voice  ?  I  thought," 
repeats  the  patient  earnestly, "  I  heard  some  one  calling 
my  name.  Surely  there  must  be  some  one  in  the  room 
or  outside  the  door." 

In  1888  I  was  asked  to  examine  a  man  named 
Taylor  at  Wakefield  Prison,  who  had  committed  a 
murder  at  Otley.  There  was  much  excitement  con- 
cerning the  case.  He  committed  two  mm\Iers  within 
three  hours  of  one  another.  He  shot  his  infant  child 
which  his  wife  had  in  her  arms,  and  subsequently, 
three  hours  afterwards,  shot  the  detective  who  came  to 
arrest  him.  The  case  created  an  extraordinary  amount 
of  public  interest  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Otley,  in 
consequence  of  the  respect  in  which  the  police  official 
was  held,  and  from  his  local  position.  I  visited  him 
on  two  occasions  in  Wakefield  Prison.  He  suffered 
from  epileptic  insanity,  and  the  act  was  doubtless 
committed  whilst  in  an  abnormal  condition,  the  result 
of  repeated  epileptic  seizures.  The  following  is 
Taylor's  verbatim  conversation  given  to  me  in  gaol : 
— "  I  have  been  in  here  eleven  weeks.  I  don't  know 
why  I  came  here;  I  cannot  tell  you  their  names 
who  drove  me  in  here.  I  don't  know  where  they 
lived,  and  I  never  asked  them.  This  happened 
eleven  weeks  ago,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge.    They 


Hallucinations  of  Seeing  and  Hearing. 

Most  crimes,  in  -which  the  plea  of  insanity  is  raised  as  a  defence,  are  conunitted  whilst 
suffering  from  "auricular  delusions,"  in  other  -words,  hearing  imaginary  voices. 
Murder  and  suicide  is  frequently  the  result  of  this,  believing  in  the  reality  and 
acting  up  to  the  instiuctions  which  such  "voices"  are  supposed  to  give.  It  will 
be  observed,  in  some  of  the  photographs  I  give,  that  the  patients  are  actually 
listening  for  the  voice  with  their  heads  inclined  to  the  one  side  or  the  other.  In 
the  other  cases  the  hallucinations  of  hearing  and  seeing  coexist,  which  is  often  the 
case,  it  being  rare  to  find  one  without  the  other  being  present. 


HALLUCINATIONS  OF  HEARING  AND  SEEING       207 

said  I  held  been  shooting.  I  remember  seeing 
something  of  the  sort.  My  knowledge  made  mc 
aware  of  the  fact.  I  can't  say  how  long  I  entertained 
the  idea  of  shooting ;  but  not  long.  No  one  told  me 
to  shoot.  I  had  not  been  very  well  up  to  that  time ; 
I  can't  tell  you  what  was  the  matter  with  me.  I 
don't  know  whether  I  am  sorry  for  what  I  have  done 
or  not ;  sometimes  I  think  I  am,  sometimes  I  think 
otherwise.  I  was  doing  nothing  the  day  of  the  murder. 
I  had  not  contemplated  doing  it ;  I  was  forced  to  do  it 
by  my  Father ;  I  think  I  mean  God  Almighty.  He 
gave  me  knowledge  to  do  it ;  but  how  I  don't  know. 
I  had  the  knowledge  when  I  was  born.  My  mind  and 
my  knowledge  told  me  to  do  it.  I  have  had  sort  of 
fits  ever  since  I  have  been  born.  I  have  had  two 
sorts.  I  knew  when  they  were  coming  on ;  I  felt 
queer.  I  can't  say  whether  or  not  my  mother  tried 
to  poison  me,  my  memory  is  muddling,  and  varies  at 
times.  I  have  never  refused  my  food.  I  would 
commit  any  act  that  God  Almighty  gave  me  know- 
ledge to  do,  and  not  think  myself;  but  can't  say 
whether  I  was  right  or  not.  I  can't  think  that  I  have 
done  this  crime ;  I  expect  I  have,  I  imagine  seeing  it, 
but  they  can  make  any  one  imagine  anything  at  this 
day,  I  expect.  Any  physicians  can  make  anybody 
imagine  they  have  done  anything.  I  have  had  this 
put  lately  in  my  head,  but  I  can't  say  by  whom ;  it 
has  come  of  itself,  like  all  else.  I  was  forced  to 
shoot,  and  could  not  resist  the  act,  and  the  person 
who  forced  me  to  do  the  act  was  God  Almighty. 
How  could  I  resist  what  I  was  born  to  do  ?  My 
memory  is  bad.  I  could  not  have  entertained  it  long, 
as  the    thought   only  just   came.     After  I   shot   the 


208  MAD  HUMANITY 

child,  I  went  into  the  house  and  laid  me  down  in  bed, 
and  I  went  upstairs.  I  did  not  think  aljout  anything. 
I  did  not  go  and  see  whether  I  had  hurt  the  child. 
I  could  not  sleep.  People  came  to  the  door ;  I  said, 
'  Go  away  and  let  me  alone.'  I  don't  know  what 
happened  then,  nothing  much  to  talk  about.  My 
eyes  and  conscience  remember  seeing  the  policeman 
shot,  I  remember  seeing  it  done  in  my  eyesight.  I 
can't  say  whether  it  was  myself,  but  if  it  was  done,  it 
was  by  myself.  I  think  God  Almighty  told  me  that. 
He  redeemeth  knowledge,  and  He  gave  me  knowledge 
to  do  it.  I  have  often  had  bad  headaches,  and  I  was 
born  to  do  it.  I  had  four  things  when  born  into 
the  world — health,  knowledge,  strength,  and  prosperity 
to  do  it,  and  I  did  it,  at  least  I  expect  so,  I  mean  the 
crime."  ^ 


^'^HyCl^jcrtt   sj^^^^^&^ 


This  was  the  exact  conversation,  in  reply  to  my 
questions,  as  taken  down  by  me  and  witnessed  by  the 
solicitor  and  by  a  warder,  who  signed  under  the 
signature  of  the  prisoner.  The  case,  as  I  have  previ- 
ously stated,  was  tried  at  the  York  Assizes  before 
Mr.  Justice  Day.  Unfortunately,  I  had  received  a 
subpoena  in  another  murder  case  the  same  day,  that 

^  This  signature  is  witnessed  by  Mr.  John  Gledstone,  solicitor  of 
the  prisoner,  and  W.  Rose,  warder,  and  was  Avritten  under  my  notes 
taken  at  Wakefield  Prison. 


HALLUCINATIONS  OF  HEARING  AND  SEEING       209 

of  Kichardson  who  shot  several  persons  at  Eamsgate. 
He  was  tried  at  Maidstone,  and  the  jury  found  that 
he  was  of  unsound  mind  and  unable  to  plead.  I 
attended  this  trial,  and  on  its  completion  went  the 
same  day  direct  to  York.  On  my  arrival  there  I 
found  that  the  whole  day  had  been  occupied  trying 
whether  Taylor  was  able  to  plead  at  the  present  time. 
The  jury  had  pronounced  for  his  sanity.  I  was  met 
at  York  Station  by  the  solicitor,  who  informed  me 
that  all  the  witnesses  and  expert  testimony  (except 
my  own)  had  been  given,  and  that  he  had  lost  all 
hopes  of  being  able  to  establish  the  plea  of  insanity 
at  the  time  of  the  crime,  as  he  thought  that  the  jury 
had  made  up  their  minds.  All  engaged  in  the  case 
seemed  very  despondent  as  to  the  ultimate  result. 
The  next  day  the  very  same  evidence  was  submitted 
to  the  jury,  mine  being  the  only  additional  one.  I 
was  called  last ;  and,  after  hearing  my  evidence,  to  the 
astonishment  of  all  in  court,  the  jury  brought  in  a 
verdict  of  "  Not  guilty  on  the  ground  of  insanity." 
On  my  journey  up  from  York  to  London  I  travelled 
part  of  the  way  in  the  same  compartment  with  the 
foreman  and  other  members  of  the  jury,  and  I  had 
the  satisfaction  of  being  informed  that  had  it  not 
been  for  my  testimony  they  would  have  found  him 
guilty.  Public  indignation  ran  high  at  the  verdict, 
and  the  solicitor  and  myself  were  denounced  in  the 
papers,  and  I  believe  narrowly  escaped  being  lynched. 
A  few  months  after,  however,  the  poor  man,  whilst  in 
Broadmoor  Criminal  Lunatic  Asylum,  plucked  both 
his  eyes  out,  in  consequence  of  some  morbid  religious 
belief  in  the  same  delusion  which  had  induced  him 
to   commit   the   crime,  thus   proving   the  correctness 

p 


210  MAD  HUMANITY 

of  the  medical  testimony,  and  the  justness  of  the 
verdict. 

The  case  of  Eichardson,  previously  alluded  to,  as  I 
liave  said,  took  place  at  Maidstone,  and  on  15th 
February  1888,  the  day  before  his  trial  for  murder,  I 
examined  him  in  the  gaol,  having  previously  done  so 
on  16  th  January  of  the  same  year,  in  the  Canterbury 
Prison.  The  following  is  the  verbatim  extract  from 
my  note -book  : — 

Eichardson  said :  "  I  can't  keep  my  head  up,  as  it 
is  not  in  use  now.  I  don't  think  of  anything,  except 
getting  myself  down  ;  of  course,  I  get  raised  very  much 
one  way  or  the  other.  You  never  think  without 
making  a  noise.  I  suppose  thought  is  the  word,  but 
it  always  depends  upon  what  God  is  —  a  difficult 
problem  to  prove.  I  can't  say  whether  there  are 
any  spirits  here ;  I  have  not  noticed  it  particularly. 
I  remember  shooting  at  Eamsgate,  but  do  not  know 
why  I  did  it ;  the  fact  is,  I  had  two  new  teeth  coming 
in,  and  I  wanted  to  go  away.  The  reason  why  I  shot 
was  because  something  got  into  me  out  of  the  houses. 
I  think  the  carcase  of  my  father's  spirit  speaks  to  me ; 
it  is  an  awfully  dangerous  one,  telling  me  to  do 
things  occasionally,  and  I  generally  obey  this.  I 
saw  the  Holy  Ghost  at  Marseilles ;  I  hope  it  did  not 
speak  to  me.  I  think  some  of  the  English  churches 
over  there  did  this.  I  thought  it  was  an  awkward 
thing  to  do  when  I  shot  the  people ;  I  did  it  because 
somebody  had  gone  up  to  my  head.  I  warned  the 
police  about  it  before.  Some  of  the  persons  were  re- 
presented by  spirits,  but  it  has  something  to  do  with 
two  birds  who  reproduce  them.  I  met  a  man  in  a 
shiny  hat,  in  a  very  bad  condition,  opposite  a  public 


HALLUCINATIONS  OF  HEARING  AND  SEEING       211 

house  at  Margate ;  he  was  too  much  got  up,  but  not 
drunk.  I  shall  go  to  the  Canary  Islands  when  I  get 
out  of  here,  unless  I  accept  any  position,  but  I  can't 
say  what.  I  might  care  what  happens  to-morrow  ; 
but  it  does  not  worry  me,  because  I  trust  to  my  spirit 
of  truth.  I  lost  this  before  my  mother  died,  as  the 
police  took  it  as  they  wanted  to  do  miracles.  I  did 
not  contemplate  shooting ;  I  was  too  much  in  a 
dream.  If  I  had  got  free  of  my  property,  things 
would  have  been  different.  I  do  not  know  why  I  am 
here  in  prison ;  I  think,  because  of  my  previous  ideas 
regarding  legislation.  I  fired  because  I  was  scared. 
It  was  that  spirit  of  death  which  made  me  free."  ^ 

(Signed)  ^^^  ^^  ^"^^^ 

A  terrible  tragedy  occurred  some  time  ago  at 
the  Canterbury  Theatre  of  Varieties,  London.  A 
professional  bicyclist,  known  as  Letine,  together  with 
his  troupe,  were  engaged  there,  and  about  eleven 
o'clock  one  evening  he  arrived  at  the  staoe-door  in 
his  brougham.  Immediately  on  his  alighting,  a  man 
rather  older  than  himself  stepped  forward,  and,  with 
the  remark,  "  I  have  been  waiting  for  you  a  long  time, 
now  I  shall  get  you,"  thrust  a  knife  into  the  abdomen 
of  the  professional,  inflicting  a  severe  wound.  The 
assailant  then  crossed  the  street,  drew  a  revolver,  and 
fired  into  his  own  mouth.  Both  fell  to  the  ground 
insensible,  and  were  conveyed  to  St.  Thomas's  Hospital, 

*  This  signature  was  signed  in  Canterbury  Prison,  on  15th  Feb- 
ruary 1888,  the  day  previous  to  his  trial,  and  undersigned  by 
W.  Steven,  cliief  Avarder, 


212  MAD  HUMANITY 

where  the  professional  expired.  The  murderer  was 
Nathaniel  Currah,  manager  of  the  Crayford  Water- 
works, Kent,  and  he  was  the  father  of  a  member  of 
Letine's  troupe,  and  was  prompted  to  the  crime  by  a 
belief  that  Letine  had  caused  the  death  of  his  child 
Beatrice  through  cruelty.  Letine,  whose  correct  name 
was  Gorin,  originally  employed  Currah's  deceased 
daughter  as  one  of  his  troupe  of  performers.  She 
was,  however,  dismissed  from  the  troupe,  it  was 
alleged,  on  the  ground  of  incompetency,  and  shortly 
afterwards  died.  Several  actions  at  law  resulted  from 
the  dismissal,  but  in  each  of  these  Letine  was  the 
victor.  At  the  inquest  on  Letine  at  St.  Thomas's 
Hospital,  a  member  of  the  deceased's  troupe  testified 
that  they  were  kindly  treated  by  him,  thus  show- 
ing that  the  grievance  harboured  by  Currah  was  im- 
aginary. The  coroner's  jury  returned  a  verdict  of 
wilful  murder  against  Currah.  At  the  request  of  the 
solicitor  for  the  defence,  I  examined  him  on  three 
occasions — twice  at  St.  Thomas's  Hospital,  and  subse- 
quently at  Hollo  way  Prison.  At  my  first  visit  to 
him  at  the  hospital  I  found  him  in  bed,  and  in  reply 
to  my  questions  he  said  as  follows :  "  I  do  not  know 
why  they  brought  me  here.  I  hear  voices  saying  all 
manner  of  things ;  even  spirits  come  to  me,  and  I 
never  think  of  what  I  did.  My  daughter  Beatrice 
(who  was  killed)  has  been  to  see  me,  and  says :  '  Cheer 
up,  dada.'  She  very  often  comes  to  see  me."  In 
reply  to  my  question,  "  AVhat  became  of  Letine  ? " 
he  answered,  "  I  don't  know  ;  I  have  not  seen  him  for 
two  years.  I  never  hit  him  with  a  knife ;  it's  a  lie. 
I  should  sometimes  obey  the  voices."  At  another 
examination,  when  he  was  in  his  bed,  he  told  me  "  he 


HALLUCINATIONS  OF  HEARING  AND  SEEING       213 

was  very  anxious  to  get  up,  as  it  was  driving  him 
mad."  I  asked  him  why  he  used  the  knife.  He 
answered,  "  What  knife  ?  "  I  then  said,  "  What  are 
you  in  here  for  ? "  to  which  he  replied, "  I  don't  know 
— why  am  I  left  in  here  ?  What  is  it  they  want  ? " 
I  asked  him  "  why  he  went  to  the  theatre  that  even- 
ing ? "  He  replied,  "  To  look  around  the  old  place 
where  my  dear  child  had  been  before  me."  I  asked 
him  if  he  "  recollected  waiting  at  the  stage-door  with  a 
knife,"  in  reply  to  which  he  said,  "  I  did  not  murder 
him.  My  head  was  in  a  state  of  bewilderment. 
Have  I  killed  him  ?  I  suppose  I  shall  be  tried  now. 
All  is  over  with  me.  I  was  going  to  drown  myself. 
I  know  that  God  Almighty  said  I  must  go  and  kill 
Letine  and  kill  myself.  God  Almighty  frequently  said 
that,  and  appeared  to  me  many  times.  When  I  was 
downstairs  the  room  was  full  of  evil  spirits.  I  often 
see  my  daughter  Beatrice  in  this  room.  She  put  her 
cold  hand  on  my  forehead.      I  often  see  visions."  -^ 


7/M(hy^   (]u^ 


In  this  case  there  was  insanity  in  the  family, 
both  of  his  parents  being  afflicted.  I  made  a  third 
examination  of  him  at  HoUoway  Prison  in  the 
presence  of  the  medical  officer  of  the  prison  and  a 
police  official.  Upon  my  first  speaking  to  him  of 
Letine,  Currah  raised  himself  in  bed  and  asked  why 
he  was  detained  there,  statim^  that  it  was  killimi:  him 

1  Sigued  by  Currah  at  St.  Thomas's  Hospital.  Witnessed  by 
Dr.  F,  C.  Abbott,  house-surgeon,  at  the  Hospital  examination  made 
July  1889. 


214  MAD  HUMANITY 

to  keep  hiin  in  bed.  Ciu^rah  added  that  "  he  knew  me 
well,  and  had  often  seen  me  before."  His  conversation 
was  then  bewildered  and  incoherent.  "  I  don't  know  why 
I  am  kept  here.  What  have  I  done  ?  "  he  said.  I  then 
asked  him  why  he  hit  Letine.  He  replied  :  "  I  never  hit 
him.  I  was  going  to  hit  him  in  Manchester.  I  never 
hit  him"  (repeating  the  latter  expression  several  times). 
He  then  said  he  constantly  heard  voices  s]Deaking  to 
him,  and  that  God  Almighty  said  to  him,  "  Go,  kill 
Letine,  and  then  yourself,  as  an  example  to  others." 
Currah  further  said  that  he  often  "  saw  his  dear 
Beattie  in  the  room,  and  that  she  was  in  his  bedroom 
last  night,  and  put  her  cold  hand  on  his  forehead." 

The  opinion  I  entertained  was  that  Currah  was  of 
unsound  mind  at  the  time,  and  quite  unaware  of  the 
nature  of  the  act  which  he  committed.  He  heard 
these  imaginary  voices,  and  would  obey  whatever  they 
told  him  to  do. 

The  curious  part  of  the  case  was  that  there  was  no 
foundation  for  the  statement  that  Letine  was  anything 
but  a  kind  and  humane  man,  and  one  who  was  in  the 
liabit  of  treating  those  whom  he  employed  with  every 
consideration.  Currah  had  got  firmly  into  his  mind 
the  notion  that  this  was  not  so.  I  gave  evidence  at 
the  trial,  and  in  conformity  with  my  opinion  the  jury 
found  he  was  of  unsound  mind,  and  he  was  sent  to  a 
criminal  lunatic  asylum. 

A  dreadful  crime  was  committed  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  London  a  few  years  ago,  which  for  some  time 
bailled  the  vigilance  of  the  police.  A  young  woman's 
body  was  found  in  one  of  the  suburbs  of  London  with 
her  throat  cut,  and  the  culprit  turned  out  to  be  a 
youth,  aged  twenty-one,  who  had  been  in  tlie  habit  of 


HALLUCINATIONS  OF  HEARING  AND  SEEING       215 

drawing  very  much  upon  his  imagination,  and    had 
been  placed  at  a  school  for  boys,  mentally  deficient, 
at  Hampton  Wick.     At  the  time  of  his  escape  from 
the  institution,  he  left  behind  him,  unposted,  letters 
addressed  to  relatives,  which  were  found  to  consist  m 
a  tissue  of  exaggerations.     Thus,  enlarging  upon  the 
circumstance  that  there  had  been  some  land  flooded  m 
the  neighbourhood  of  his  school,  he  described  a  scene 
which  was    purely  imaginary.      "Houses,"  he  wrote, 
-  had  been  swept  away,  and  cattle  and  bodies  had  been 
daily  seen  in  the  swollen  Thames."     It  was  partly  this 
facility  for  disregarding  the  truth  which  led  to  the 
young  fellow,  a  boy  of  fifteen,  being  placed  under  the 
charge  of  a  medical  man,  who  had  a  school  for  the 
education  of  lads  who  "have,"  as  it  is   described,  a 
moral    rather    than    a    mental   "twist."       From    his 
entrance  into  the  establishment,  however,  he  won  the 
affections  of  his  schoolmates.     He  was  always  of  the 
most    amiable    and     gentle    disposition.       He    never 
betrayed  the  least  tendency  to  homicide,  and  he  was 
never  accompanied  by  a  special  attendant.     Up  to  the 
moment  of  his  last  disappearance,  his  conduct  had  not 
caused  the  least  suspicion  that  he  was  dangerous  ;  and 
if  he  had  shown  any  signs  of  such  condition  of  mind, 
he  would  not  have  been  permitted  to  remain  m  the 
school,  which  was  not  intended  for  inmates  medically 
certified  as  insane.     His  time  at  the  school  had  in 
reality  expired,  and  it  was  at  his  own  desire  that  he 
was  remaining  as  a  pupil  for  another  three  months. 
His  father  had  already  written  stating  that  he  was 
prepared  to  take  him  to  Canada,  where  it  was  intended 
that  he  should  learn  farming.     In  preparation  for  such 
a  career   he  was   allowed  to   occupy  himself   m   the 


216  MAD  HUMANITY 

garden,  and,  for  the  purpose  of  pruning  and  the  like, 
he  borrowed  a  knife  from  a  fellow -pupil,  who  had 
bought  it  for  his  w^ood- carving  lessons.  No  one 
suspected  that  a  weapon  of  the  kind  was  likely  to  be 
misused,  and  it  would  seem  that  he  had  the  knife  still 
in  his  possession,  more  by  accident  than  by  design, 
when  he  came  to  town.  He  ultimately  communicated 
with  the  police,  and  gave  himself  up.  I  examined 
him  on  the  24th  of  December  1894,  and  the  following 
conversation  took  place  (at  the  time  of  my  visit  he 
had  just  had  a  paroxysm  of  excitement,  in  which  he 
had  nearly  killed  one  of  the  inmates  of  his  ward). 
He  said  as  follows :  "  I  was  drugged  when  I  was 
brought  in  here,  but  cannot  tell  where  I  am.  Every- 
thing around  me  appears  to  me  as  if  in  a  dream,  and 
I  have  no  recollection  of  having  committed  the  murder 
of  which  you  speak ;  had  I  done  so,  I  cannot  under- 
stand the  wickedness  of  the  act,  or  what  I  should  suffer 
in  consequence.  I  hear,  and  have  heard  for  some  time, 
and  do  at  the  present  moment  hear  people  speaking 
to  me,  who  apparently  are  hidden  behind  the  walls ;  I 
have  been  persecuted  by  these  voices  for  a  long  period 
of  time,  urging  me  to  do  the  various  acts,  and  I  believe 
in  their  reality."  He  evidently  was  of  very  weak 
capacity,  and  liable  to  do  any  act  to  which  his  insane 
mind  directed  him. 

This  case  created  a  great  deal  of  excitement  in 
London,  from  the  cruelty  of  the  murder  and  circum- 
stances surrounding  it.  The  general  opinion  was  that 
it  resembled  one  of  the  series  of  murders  committed 
by  Jack  the  Kipper,  the  victim  being  a  woman, 
whom  he  casually  met  and  whom  he  stabbed,  and  hid 
the   knife   in    a   heap   of  rubbish    some  distance  off. 


HALLUCINATIONS  OF  HEARING  AND  SEEING       217 

After  the  commission  of  the  murder  he  rushed  off  to 
Ireland,  where  he  afterwards  gave  himself  in  charge. 
It  was  found  that  he  was  the  actual  murderer.  He 
had  suffered  for  some  time  from  the  hallucination  of 
hearing  voices,  and  in  all  probability  the  attack  was 
brought  about  by  brooding  over  the  horrors  of  the 
Whitechapel  type.  He  was  tried,  and  his  case  ended 
in  an  order  for  detention  in  a  criminal  lunatic  asylum 
during  "Her  Majesty's  pleasure."  He  had  sent,  at 
the  time  of  the  murder,  which  was  causing  much  sen- 
sation in  London,  a  "  Jack  the  Eipper  "  letter  to  the 
police. 

Mrs.  Dyer  ("The  Beading  Murder"). — She  was 
tried  in  1896  and  found  guilty.  The  plea  of  insanity 
failed,  though  she  was  proved  to  have  hallucinations 
of  hearing  and  seeing,  and  to  have  been  in  several 
lunatic  asylums  previously ;  but  the  diabolical  nature 
of  her  crimes,  which  consisted  in  drowning  a  number 
of  children,  was  of  such  a  revolting  nature,  that  the 
jury  evidently  paid  no  attention  to  the  plea,  and  as  an 
evidence  of  this,  whilst  I  was  being  examined  in  the 
witness-box,  stating  that  the  prisoner  had  informed 
me  that  she  had  visions  of  animals  and  worms  crawl- 
ing about  her,  evidently  suffering  from  delusions,  I 
overheard  one  of  the  jurymen  say,  "  No,  but  she  soon 
will  have,"  showing  the  prejudice  they  entertained  in 
the  matter.  The  copy  of  this  signature  was  made  in 
Holloway  Prison,  15th  May  1896,  at  the  foot  of  my 
report. 


/2*^?^M^  *^ 


r 


218  MAD  HUMANITY 

A   boy,   named  Bunn,  was  under  my  care   at  an 
hospital  in  London  as  an  out-patient  for  some  time. 
He  heard  imaginary  voices,  and  in  consequence  of  his 
symptoms  I  warned  his  family  to  be  on  their  guard. 
Shortly  after  this  he  made  a  murderous  attack  upon 
his  mother  with  a  hatchet  for  no  cause,  and  at  the 
same  time  attacked  two  other  members  of  his  family. 
The  doctor  of  the  lunatic  ward  of  the  workhouse  to 
which  he  had  been  sent  declined  to  testify  that  he  was 
a  lunatic;  but  I,  being  convinced  that  this  opinion  was 
wrong,  made  a  personal  application  to  a  magistrate  in 
open  court  to  compel  them  to  deal  with  the  case,  and 
place  him  under  proper  care  and  protection.     After  a 
great    deal    of    trouble,    I    convinced    the    parochial 
authorities  that  the  boy  was  a  dangerous  homicidal 
lunatic,  and  the  subsequent  communications  from  the 
superintendent  of  the  asylum  to  which  he  was  sent 
confirmed  this  opinion.      The  following  was  the  con- 
versation between  Bunn  and  myself  when  I  examined 
him  in  the  infirmary  ward :  "  I  admit  that  I  attacked 
my  mother  and  sister,  but  cannot  say  why.      I  do  not 
know  what  is  going  on  at  the  present  day,  neither  do 
I  know  the  name  of  the  Queen  of  England,  or  of  her 
son.     I  hear  persons  saying  things  to  me,  which  I  pay 
attention  to  at  times.      They  say  do  this,  or  that,  and 
I  obey  them.     I  read  the  newspapers,  but  can't  under- 
stand what  I  read  about,  and  I  am  sure  I  don't  care. 
At  times  I  see  all  sorts  of  ghosts  and  visions  of  various 
description  jumping  about  the   room.       I   should    do 
whatever  I  was  told  to  do,  believing  that  I  was  doing 
right  in  so  doing." 

The  parochial  authorities,  in  the  first  instance,  were 
most  indignant  at  my  interference,  and  tried  to  prove 


HALLUCINATIONS  OF  HEARING  AND  SEEING       219 

my  opinion  incorrect,  especially  after  I  had  brought 
their  relieving  officer  before  the  court  to  compel  him 
to  act.  Much  time  was  wasted  by  the  Chelsea  Vestry 
in  the  discussion  on  the  case,  and  I  believe  one  genial 
gentleman,  who  made  himself  rather  conspicuous 
in  the  matter,  agreed  to  take  private  care  of  the 
lunatic,  but  he  thought  better  of  his  determination. 
I  think  the  question  of  dealing  with  lunatics  by 
relieving  officers  requires  amending. 

Many  of  the  victims  to  kleptomania  imagine  that 
they  hear  voices  telling  them  to  commit  the  act.  I 
will  give  a  few  cases  in  illustration. 

A    lady,   aged    forty-five,   of   no   occupation,   was 
charged,  on  her  own  admission,  of  stealing  goods  from 
various  tradesmen  in  London.     The  articles  were  of  the 
value  of  just  over  £30.     The  jury  returned  a  verdict 
of  o-uilty.     She  was  only  twenty  when  married.     Her 
married  life  was  very  unhappy,  as  her  husband  left 
her  shortly  after  the  marriage.     For  twenty-five  years 
she  had  lived  a  lonely  life,  and  up  to  a  few  years  ago 
had  kept  a  boarding-house,  and  had  a  good  income. 
Her  health  gave  way  and  she  travelled  about,  but  on 
returning  to  London  she  went  into  St.  Mary's  Hospital. 
On  leaving  there  she  again  travelled,  and  then  took 
another  house.    She  did  not  remain  there  long,  but  went 
to  a  house  at  Bayswater,  where  she  had  remained  since. 
It  was  a  most  extraordinary  thing  that  the  prisoner, 
considering  her  means,  should  go  about  stealing  articles 
which  she  accumulated.    She  had  been  five  weeks  m  cus- 
tody, and  had  suffered  very  bad  health.    I  was  called  to 
testify  at  the  rehearing,  and  on  my  testimony  she  was  ac- 
quitted. Shewas  placed  as  a  certified  patient  in  a  private 
house,  and  subsequently  removed  to  an  institution. 


220  MAD  HUMANITY 

Another  similar  case  occurred  a  short  time  sub- 
sequent to  this,  where  similar  shop-lifting  had  been 
indulged  in,  and  the  following  is  a  copy  of  my  notes  : — 

"  A  lady  complains  of  headache.  Hears  voices  in 
head  like  machinery  constantly  going.  Feels  as  if  her 
head  does  not  belong  to  her  body.  Hears  voices 
telling  her  to  do  various  things.  Says  they  are 
coming  to  take  her  away,  and  that  after  this  she 
appears  drugged.  Tells  me  for  the  last  six  years  she 
has  taken  large  doses  of  drugs,  i.e.  narcotics.  Sleeps 
very  badly.  Dreams  a  good  deal,  and  is  a  somnam- 
bulist, even  as  far  as  going  outside  the  house  in  a 
trance.  Constantly  sees  visions  of  people  who  have 
been  dead.  Cannot  recollect  what  happened  after 
seeing  her  child  meet  with  an  accident.  Cannot 
recollect  stating  that  the  child  was  cut  up.  One 
brother  had  epileptic  fits  with  convulsions,  and  one 
child  died  of  convulsions,  and  two  more  had  them 
too.  Says  she  cannot  recollect  after  leaving  school. 
Felt  in  a  dazed  state,  as  if  she  was  going  gradually 
down.  Tells  me  that  her  husband  had  often  brought 
her  back  whilst  in  a  dazed  mental  condition.  Memory 
often  wanders,  and  cannot  concentrate  her  attention 
properly  upon  any  subject." 

On  the  day  she  came  back  from  seeing  her  child 
in  the  hospital  she  felt  much  dazed,  and  unable  to  do 
anything,  and  could  not  read  a  paper  that  evening, 
but  walked  about  very  restless  all  the  night. 

A  few  days  before  her  crime  she  dragged  one  of 
the  children  by  the  head  down  the  garden.  This  was 
at  a  period  when  her  condition  was  one  of  frenzied 
excitement,  and  all  were  terrified  at  her.  There  was 
considerable  depression,  and  she  said  she  had  many 


HALLUCINATIONS  OF  HEARING  AND  SEEING       221 

times  contemplated  suicide,  and  had  taken  up  a  knife 
to  kill  her  boy. 

A  girl,  aged  twenty-one,  was  employed  as  a  nurse- 
maid at  a  coffee-shop  in  Catherine  Street,  Strand. 
Her  conduct  not  being  satisfactory,  she  received  notice 
to  leave.  On  the  eve  of  her  departure,  she  w^as  asked 
if  she  had  any  objection  to  being  searched,  as  various 
articles  had  been  missed  from  the  house.  After  some 
hesitation,  she  produced  some  rings,  cigarette  cases,  a 
number  of  cigars,  etc.,  which  she  had  stolen  and 
concealed  in  different  parts  of  her  dress.  I  informed 
the  magistrate  that  "  I  had  examined  the  girl,  and 
found  her  suffering  from  auricular  delusions.  She 
fancied  she  heard  voices  telling  her  to  do  certain 
things.  She  said  one  voice  told  her  to  jump  into  the 
river,  and  when  asked  if  she  would  jump  out  of  the 
window  if  a  voice  told  her  to  do  so,  she  replied, 
'  Certainly.'  Her  palate  was  very  much  arched,  as  is 
generally  the  case  with  persons  of  w^eak  intellect.  In 
my  opinion,  she  was  not  responsible  for  her  actions," 
and  with  this  opinion  the  magistrate  coincided. 

The  following  is  a  description  sent  me  by  the 
mother : — 

"  I  thought  it  better  just  to  tell  you  that  when 
my  poor  girl  was  two  years  old  she  suffered  from 
w^ater  on  the  brain,  and  I  attended  the  Great  Ormond 
Street  Hospital  for  a  long  time  with  her.  Her  head 
got  very  large,  she  used  to  cry  and  roll  her  head  on 
the  pillow,  but  as  she  got  bigger,  her  head  seemed  to 
get  smaller ;  but  at  seven  years  old  she  was  run  over 
and  seriously  hurt.  The  doctors  said  it  had  given  a 
great  shock  to  the  system  ;  they  also  told  me  I  must 
not  press  her  to  learn  ;  and  through   that  I  have  had 


222  MAD  HUMANITY 

to  take  her  from  school.  The  poor  girl  has  had  no 
education,  which  she  feels  very  much  at  times ;  she  is 
very  nervous,  and  likes  to  be  so  much  alone.  I  have 
often  felt  very  unhappy  about  her,  but  hope  this  great 
trouble  which  has  come  to  us  will  be  for  the  best,  but 
it  is  hard  to  think  so.  She  has  no  memory  at  times, 
and  if  I  have  had  to  scold  her  I  have  been  afraid  to 
go  out  and  leave  her." 

I  will  now  give  a  few  more  of  the  many  cases  where 
hallucinations  of  hearing  or  seeing  formed  a  prominent 
feature.  I  was  called  to  see  a  young  medical  student, 
who  apparently  was  continuing  his  studies  at  the 
hospital  and  mixing  amongst  his  fellow  -  students 
without  any  special  attention  being  drawn  to  himself. 
In  consequence,  however,  of  the  warden  of  the 
hospital  communicating  with  his  friends,  I  was  asked 
to  examine  him.  On  my  visit  to  his  rooms  I  found 
him  deep  in  study,  reading  his  medical  books  for  his 
forthcoming  final  examination.  I  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  he  was  of  unsound  mind,  and  that  he 
suffered  from  a  dangerous  type  of  insanity,  rendering 
it  imperative  to  act  at  once  in  placing  him  in  an 
institution.  Tlie  copy  of  my  report  was  as  follows : 
"  He  suffers  from  general  incoherency.  Delusions 
that  he  has  divine  inspirations,  and  continues  to 
ramble  on.  He  hears  strange  voices  which  do  not 
exist.  He  is  very  excitable,  and  says  that  he  has 
commands  from  God  whicli  he  must  obey.  His  mind 
strangely  wanders,  and  he  is  much  confused.  He  is, 
in  my  opinion,  rapidly  getting  worse,  and  is  on  the 
borderland  of  an  attack  of  mania."  The  hallucinations 
of  hearing  were  very  strong  indeed.  My  advice  was 
fortliwith  followed  out,  and  he  was  sent  to  an  institu- 


Hallucinations  of  Seeinc;. 

Ill  the  hallucinations  of  seeing  the  victim  of  this  has  frequently  a  most  smilingly  benign 
countenance  as  if  pleased  with  all  the  surroundings.  In  other  instances  there  is  a  look  of 
complete  bewilderment  and  horror,  amounting  occasionally,  as  in  some  of  the  illustra- 
tions I  give,  to  appalling  terror.  The  visions  mentally  seen  are  of  such  a  varied  nature 
that  this  is  not  to  be  wondered  at— sometimes  pleasant  and  agreeable,  so  as  to  create 
a  feeling  of  satisfaction  and  gratification,  Avhilst  we  often  find  the  reverse,  the  most 
dreadful  visions  of  cruelty  and  all  the  possible  horrors  as  depicted  in  the  Wiertz  Gallery 
at  Brussels  being  revealed  as  realities  to  the  wretched  diseased  imagination. 


HALLUCINATIONS  OF  HEARING  AND  SEEING       223 

tion.  He  proved  to  be  a  most  dangerous  lunatic.  A 
trial  on  leave  of  absence  was  given  him  by  his  father, 
but  without  my  concurrence.  He  was  taken  to 
Belgium,  but  he  had  not  been  there  twenty -four 
hours  before  he  became  raving  and  violent,  and  the 
police  being  called  in  he  was  located  again  in  England 
in  his  old  establishment.      He  is  now  a  chronic  case. 

A  short  time  ago  I  was  consulted  about  another 
case  of  a  similar  description.  My  report  of  the  inter- 
view was  as  follows  : — 

"  Says  he  shall  commit  murder  or  suicide  at  the 
first  opportunity ;  very  excitable ;  trembles  all  over. 
Says  he  hears  voices.  Is  in  a  most  critical  state  of 
health.  His  brother  told  me  that  he  cannot  be  left 
night  or  day  as  he  would  commit  suicide,  and  requires 
most  careful  watching  to  prevent  this  taking  place." 

The  patient  was  brought  to  my  house  late  in  the 
evening.  In  consequence  of  the  strong  hallucinations 
of  the  voices  which  he  informed  me  he  would  obey, 
it  was  necessary  to  place  him  immediately  in  an 
institution,  as  he  could  not  be  left  alone  for  a 
moment. 

The  friends  of  a  young  lady  consulted  me  witli 
reference  to  strange  delusions.  She  had  been  annoy- 
ing certain  members  of  Parliament,  writing  letters  to 
them  under  the  impression  that  she  was  commanded 
to  do  so  by  voices.  She  had  even  written  to  the 
Queen  in  answer  to  the  voices  which  she  stated  told 
her  to  do  so.  A  few  weeks  before  coming  to  see  me  her 
symptoms  increased,  and  her  relations  had  to  protect 
themselves  by  placing  her  safely  under  lock  and  key. 

A  young  man  suffered  from  depression,  restless- 
ness, insomnia,  talking   to  himself,  want   of   energy. 


224  MAD  HUMANITY 

seeing  visions  and  delusions  of  voices  talking  to  him, 
and  imagined  that  he  was  watched  and  followed 
in  the  street.  These  imaginary  voices  were  of  varied 
description,  and  he  was  accustomed  to  answer  them. 
He  had  contemplated  suicide,  and  when  I  was  called 
in  to  see  him  he  was  carrying  about  a  bottle  of 
laudanvmi  to  effect  his  purpose.  He  was  arrested, 
late  in  the  evening  in  the  street,  in  consequence  of 
information  given  by  me  to  the  police,  and  at  11  p.m. 
I  was  requested  to  attend  at  the  police  station,  and 
I  did  so.  I  testified  as  to  his  insanity,  and  he  was 
placed  in  an  asylum.  I  had  known  the  case  for  some 
time,  and  so  strong  were  his  delusions  of  hearing,  that 
I  warned  his  father  as  to  the  gravity  of  the  case,  and 
in  my  notes  concerning  it,  at  the  first  examination, 
the  following  extract  appears :  "  I  anticipate  that 
something  dreadful  will  happen,  and  I  have  so  warned 
his  relatives  verbally."  Contrary  to  my  urgent  advice, 
his  father  removed  him  from  the  asylum  and  allowed 
him  his  freedom.  A  short  time  afterwards  he  found 
himself  an  inmate  of  one  of  Her  Majesty's  prisons,  to 
which  he  was  sent  for  three  years.  He  was,  however, 
ultimately  transferred  to  an  asylum  on  my  repre- 
sentation to  the  Home  Secretary. 

The  subject  of  hallucination  of  hearing  and  seeing, 
with  typical  illustrations  of  the  same,  will  be  found  in 
other  parts  of  this  work,  especially  in  the  poetic 
creations  of  the  mind  and  imagination  in  the  chapter 
of  the  "Madness  of  Genius."  But  I  think  I  have 
shown,  in  the  cases  I  have  just  given,  the  gravity  with 
which  the  existence  of  such  hallucinations  must  be 
regarded. 


CHAPTEE    IX 


STKANGE    LUNACY    CASES 


1.  Madwomen 


In  England,  and,  I  believe,  in  most  other  countries, 
as  I  have  previously  shown,  insanity  is  more  prevalent 
among  women  than  among  men.  The  statistics  of  a 
large  lunatic  hospital  show  that  out  of  4404  persons 
of  unsound  mind  admitted  during  the  year,  2622 
belonged  to  the  female  sex,  and  1782  to  the  male. 
Of  this  number  46  per  cent  of  the  males  were  cured, 
and  55  per  cent  of  the  females.  Of  the  deaths,  the 
males  were  6  per  cent,  and  the  females  4  per  cent. 
Of  the  total  admissions  there  were  47  per  cent  more 
females  than  males.  These  statistics  may  be  taken  as 
a  fair  criterion  as  to  the  ratio  of  insanity  between  the 
sexes. 

This  greater  liability  of  the  female  sex  to  become 
insane  is  associated  with  other  peculiarities  worthy  of 
consideration.  It  is  a  curious  thing  that  mania  is  a 
more  frequent  form  of  mental  disorder  in  women  than 
in  men,  but  though  it  often  proves  fatal  in  the  latter 
sex,  it  is  found  to  be  much  more  amenable  to  cure 
when  developing  itself  in  females.      I  am  led  to  this 


226  MAD  HUMANITY 

conclusion,  not  only  from  my  own  experience,  but  from 
statistics  which  show  that  the  ratio  of  recoveries  from 
mania  is  in  the  female  sex  9  per  cent  more  than  in 
the  other  sex.  In  the  latter  the  number  of  deaths 
exceeded  by  2  per  cent  the  rate  of  the  mortality  met 
with  in  the  former. 

In  discussing  this  question  it  is  of  interest  to 
consider  the  influence  which  the  seasons  exert  in 
producing  insanity  in  females.  In  the  statistics  of 
a  large  hospital  for  a  period  of  twenty -two  years 
there  was  a  total  of  4974  lunatics  admitted.  Of 
that  number  2955  belonged  to  the  female  sex,  and 
2018  to  the  male.  Analysis  shows  us  that  during 
the  first  quarter  of  the  year — during  the  months  of 
January,  February,  and  March — the  number  of  females 
received  amounted  to  649.  In  the  second  quarter  of 
the  year — April,  May,  and  June — 842  were  admitted. 
In  the  third  quarter — July,  August,  and  September — 
798  was  the  number,  and  in  the  last  quarter — 
October,  November,  and  December — the  admission  of 
insane  women  amounted  to  668.  We  see,  therefore, 
that  a  much  larger  number  of  insane  women  were 
admitted  during  the  second  and  third  quarters — in 
spring  and  summer — than  in  any  other  period  of  the 
year.  On  the  other  hand,  most  cures  were  effected  in 
the  fourth  quarter,  while  most  deaths  occurred  in  the 
first  quarter  of  the  year.  On  an  analysis  of  each 
month  taken  individually,  I  find  that  in  the  month  of 
May  the  greatest  number  of  female  curable  lunatics 
were  admitted,  and  the  smallest  in  January.  Less 
females  were  discharged  cured  during  the  early  part 
of  the  year  than  in  any  other  part  of  it,  and  the  least 
in  April,  May,  and  June,     With  these  data  to  guide 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  227 

US,  we  may  rationally  conclude  that,  as  the  temperature 
of  the  weather  diminishes,  and  the  year  draws  to  a 
close,  so  may  we  form  a  more  favourable  opinion 
respecting  the  prognosis  in  cases  of  insanity  in  women. 
On  the  other  hand,  seeing  that  insanity  is  so  much 
more  prevalent  in  summer  than  in  winter,  every 
exciting  cause,  whether  physical  or  moral,  ought  to 
be  carefully  guarded  against  in  the  former  season, 
especially  in  those  women  who  are  in  any  way  liable 
to,,  or  in  whom  has  been  developed  any  previous 
attack.  The  influence  of  moral  causes  is  greater  in 
the  insanity  of  women  than  among  men.  This  shows 
itself  especially  in  melancholia,  to  which  women  are 
also  very  liable.  This  complaint  may  deviate  from 
slight  depression  to  one  of  acute  despondency.  Moral 
insanity  is  less  marked  in  cases  of  mania,  and  almost 
disappears  in  cases  associated  with  paralysis. 

Domestic  Cares  the  Chief  Cause  of  Insanity  in 
Women. — The  most  active  causes  in  the  production 
of  mental  diseases  in  both  sexes  are  sensual  excesses, 
pecuniary  anxieties,  and  domestic  cares.  These  three 
causes  have  a  different  relative  influence  in  the  two 
sexes.  In  man  the  order  of  importance  is :  ( 1 ) 
Sensual  excesses  (in  which  drink  plays  an  important 
part),  (2)  pecuniary  anxieties,  (3)  domestic  cares. 
In  woman  the  order  is  exactly  reversed,  domestic 
cares  being  the  predominating  influence,  and  sensual 
excesses  the  least.  Out  of  1000  cases  of  which  I 
have  statistics,  a  recognised  moral  cause  was  found  in 
565  males  and  in  762  females,  whereas  other  causes 
occurred  in  435  of  the  males  and  238  of  the  females. 
This  shows  that  moral  causes  act  more  strongly  on 
the  female   mental   organisation    than   on   the  male. 


228  MAD  HUMANITY 

Of  course  woman,  from  her  formation  and  the  duties 
she  has  to  perform  in  life,  is  liable  to  become  mentally 
unhinged ;  but  at  the  same  time  she  is  free  from  that 
abnormal  excitement  which  surrounds  man  in  his 
endeavour  to  compete  with  others,  and  to  hold  his 
own  in  his  battle  with  the  world.  It  is  a  difficult 
thing  to  obtain  proper  statistics  as  regards  lunacy  in 
women.  In  the  higher  and  middle  classes  of  society 
it  is  well  known  that,  instead  of  being  placed  in  an 
asylum,  women  are  often  taken  care  of  at  home  during 
their  mental  affliction,  especially  if  it  is  the  first 
attack,  and  one  deemed  curable  in  its  nature.  There 
is  a  disinclination,  in  fact,  to  send  a  woman,  if  it  can 
possibly  be  prevented,  in  whatever  class  of  society  she 
may  belong,  to  an  asylum. 

Certain  forms  of  mania  are  very  common  in  women. 
One  is  the  delusion  that  men  are  in  love  with  them. 
I  have  come  across  many  w^omen  who,  wdiile  labouring 
under  a  delusion  that  some  man  had  encouraged  them 
in  their  feelings,  would  continue  to  persecute  him  in 
their  attentions.  This  form  of  female  mania  is  often 
directed  against  clergymen.  Something  that  he  has 
said  in  his  sermon  will  be  construed  by  a  woman  as 
affecting  her,  and  perhaps  she  will  write  numerous 
letters  to  him,  until  he  has  no  alternative  but  to  com- 
municate with  the  girl's  friends  to  stop  the  persecutions. 

Women  who  picrsue  Clergymen. — One  typical  case 
I  recall.  It  is  that  of  an  elderly  lady  who  repeated 
to  me  the  oft- told  story  that  a  rector  of  a  parish, 
himself  a  married  man,  had  been  alluding  to  her  in 
his  sermons. "A, Wherever  he  went  she  pursued  him; 
every  gesture,  every  word  was  interpreted  by  her  to 
mean  something.     She  took  copious  notes  of  what  he 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  229 

said  in  his  discourses,  and  gave  to  such  expression  her 
own  meaning,  until  the  idea  became  such  an  intoler- 
able nuisance  that  the  rector  had  no  alternative  but 
to  caution  her  relatives.  In  whatever  church  he 
preached,  there  she  was  found,  occupying  a  conspicuous 
position  among  the  congregation.  She  had  to  be 
eventually  placed  in  an  institution.  This  is  a  form 
of  moral  insanity,  and  the  victims  to  it  are,  as  a  rule, 
elderly  females  of  by  no  means  prepossessing  appearance. 
There  is  a  typical  class  of  such  cases,  and  many  vicars 
of  large  parishes  can  bear  me  out  in  what  I  now  say. 
But  clergymen  are  not  the  only  victims !  A  short 
time  ago  I  saw  a  lady  who  entertained  the  same 
delusions  with  reference  to  a  member  of  Parliament, 
and  persecuted  him  with  her  letters,  conspicuous  by 
their  length.  She  had  favoured  me  for  a  very  long 
time  with  her  lengthy  effusions  relating  to  this  matter, 
and  she  was  gradually  getting  worse  and  more  excited. 
She  imagined  that  some  voice  was  telling  her  to  do 
this  and  urging  her  on,  and,  acting  under  the  belief 
that  the  voice  was  a  real  one,  she  obeyed  its  command. 
Her  friends  were  ultimately  communicated  with  by 
the  gentleman  in  question,  and  she  was  taken  proper 
care  of.  Medical  men  are  constantly  favoured  by  such 
attentions — I  think  nearly  as  often  as  clergymen.  I 
recollect  a  case  of  a  lady  over  sixty  who  persisted  in 
paying  me  two  visits  a  day,  just  to  ask  some  simple 
question.  This  became  such  a  nuisance  to  myself 
that  the  interviews  were  ultimately  held  on  the  door- 
step, but  still  she  persisted  in  calling  at  my  house. 
Her  visits,  I  am  glad  to  say,  apparently  without  any 
reason,  came  to  a  sudden  termination,  much  to  my 
gratification.     A  frequent  delusion  in  the  sex  is  that 


230  MAD  HUMANITY 

they  are  possessed  by  devils  or  witches.  Some  years 
ago  I  was  consulted  by  a  governor  of  one  of  the 
United  States  in  consequence  of  the  sudden  develop- 
ment of  this  "  witch "  delusion  in  the  lady  he  was 
about  to  marry.  The  governor  and  his  fiancee  (who 
was  a  widow),  accompanied  by  her  daughter,  had  come 
to  Europe,  and  after  having  bought  her  trousseau  in 
Paris,  returned  to  London.  On  the  eve  of  her  de- 
parture she  suddenly  became  maniacally  afflicted  with 
this  delusion.  I  was  sent  by  the  American  Legation 
in  London  to  advise  on  the  case.  The  passage  had 
been  secured  on  the  "White  Star  Line,  and  it  was  a 
question  of  vital  importance  for  them  to  sail.  I 
managed  to  get  the  patient  safely  down  to  Liverpool ; 
she  went  quietly,  under  the  delusion  that  the  witch 
was  switched  on  behind.  I  went  in  the  same  car 
and  placed  her  under  the  charge  of  the  doctor  of  the 
ship.  She  reached  home  safely,  and  on  her  arrival  in 
the  States  was  placed  in  an  asylum.  She  ultimately 
recovered,  and  married  the  governor. 

There  is  another  case  of  demoniacal  possession 
that  I  recollect.  This  was  in  the  form  of  acute 
mania.  She  imagined  that  she  was  possessed  by  a 
witch,  and  that  the  devil  was  inside  her,  that  she  had 
been  sent  by  the  devil  to  earth,  that  she  was  doomed 
to  go  to  hell,  and  that  the  gates  of  heaven  were  closed 
to  her.  She  was  raving  continually,  and  was  very  wild 
in  manner.  Her  mother,  who  brought  her  to  my 
house,  told  me  that  she  had  been  raving  all  night, 
and  that  she  kept  shouting  out  "  that  she  was  being 
killed,"  and  jumped  in  and  out  of  Ijcd,  and  groaned, 
talking  incessantly.  She  was  in  a  dangerous  state, 
and  was  sent  at  once  to  an  asylum. 


STRAXGE  LUNACY  CASES  231 

The  case  was  a  very  sudden  one,  and,  as  is  often 
found  in  maniacal  cases  in  women,  it  had  come  on 
without  any  previous  warning. 

I  recollect  a  lady  who  imagined  that  her  love  was 
reciprocated  by  a  clergyman,  and  who  went  to  a  suburb 
a  few  miles  out  of  London  to  visit  him.  She  only 
went  for  the  day,  and  left  Euston  in  the  morning 
perfectly  well.  She  returned  to  town  the  same 
evening  apparently  in  her  usual  state,  but  when  the 
train  reached  London  she  was  found  raving  in  an 
acutely  maniacal  condition  in  the  railway  carriage. 
This  is  not  an  isolated  case,  for  I  have  known  many 
similar  ones  of  acute  mania  occurring  in  quite  as 
sudden  a  way. 

Melancholia  is  a  form  of  insanity  frequently  met 
with  in  'females,  and,  as  I  have  previously  said,  is 
characterised  by  great  mental  depression  and  despond- 
ency, and  generally  with  suicidal  tendencies.  There 
is  a  special  variety  of  this  complaint  to  which  girls 
are  subject.  It  is  that  of  "  static  melancholia,"  in 
which  the  individual  so  afflicted  stands  in  one  position 
more  or  less  all  day,  rarely,  if  ever,  altering  her 
posture. 

Some  years  ago,  when  Miss  Lingard  was  called 
upon  to  portray  in  Called  Back  the  character  of 
Pauline,  the  heroine  who  goes  out  of  her  mind,  she 
communicated  with  me  as  to  how  to  study  such  a 
mental  complaint  as  that  of  "  static  melancholia."  I 
offered  to  accompany  her  to  Bethlem  Hospital,  and 
there  showed  her  a  typical  case  to  illustrate  the 
character.  She  succeeded  in  giving  a  realistic  repre- 
sentation of  the  disease.  Many  women  pine  and 
ultimately  become  melancholy  mad  in  consequence  of 


232  MAD  HUMAXITY 

an  imaginary  or  a  real  love  affair.  Hysteria,  or,  as  it 
is  now  better  known,  nensesthenia,  plays  an  important 
part  in  unhinging  the  minds  of  those  women  who  are 
predisposed  to  mental  disorders.  Hysterical  symptoms 
of  all  kinds  very  frequently  are  the  forerunners  of 
mental  alienation.  The  symptoms  assume  the  most 
varied  form,  and  are  complicated  with  epileptic  and 
cataleptic  conditions,  and  often  with  hysterical  mania. 
SyjjijJtoms  of  Insanity  in  Women. — Among  the 
nervous  symptoms  met  with  in  the  hysterical  character 
which  may  ultimately  lead  to  mental  aberration,  is  a 
special  form  of  a  convulsive  cough.  I  have  observed 
this  in  several  cases  in  women  who  ultimately  became 
insane.  It  may  persist  for  months,  even  for  years, 
after  recovery  from  the  mental  disease ;  then  it  be- 
comes intermittent,  and  disappears  as  it  came  on. 
Hysteria  in  women  may  simulate  every  possible  disease 
under  the  sun.  I  remember  my  attention  being 
drawn,  while  passing  through  the  wards  of  an  hospital, 
to  a  girl  who  was  supposed  to  be  suffering  from  a 
form  of  paralysis,  which  had  necessitated  her  being 
confined  to  bed  for  a  period  of  six  months.  The  case, 
at  the  time,  was  not  in  my  department  of  the  hospital ; 
I  was  simply  asked  to  examine  her.  From  the 
symptoms  I  observed,  I  was  led  to  believe  that  the 
complaint  from  which  she  suffered  was  acute  hysteria, 
and,  acting  on  this  belief,  I  decided  to  try  and  put 
her  to  the  test.  I  had  her  taken  out  of  bed  by  two 
nurses  and  led  to  the  end  of  the  ward,  which  was  a  very 
long  one.  I  then  had  her  placed  in  the  corner  of  the 
ward,  and  ordered  the  nurses  to  leave  her  alone  and 
unsupported.  Without  the  least  difficulty  the  patient, 
who  up  to  that  time  had  been   considered  incapable 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  233 

of  the  least  exertion,  and  unable  to  move  a  limb, 
walked  back  to  her  bed  a  cured  woman.  I  allude 
to  this  case  especially  to  show  to  what  extent  hysteri- 
cal symptoms  in  women  will  go  if  not  checked,  and 
often  deceive  those  who  may  be  inexperienced  in  such 
matters.  ^ 

Doing  Everything  three  Times. — Another  curious  W 
symptom  I  have  observed  in  girls  who  are  on  the 
borderland  of  insanity,  if  not  actually  affected  at  the 
time,  is  a  desire  to  do  things  a  certain  number  of 
times — generally  three.  For  instance,  they  will 
come  down  with  their  bonnets  on  ready  to  go  out,  but 
before  they  will  do  so  they  will  go  upstairs  and  take 
them  off  again,  and  this  will  be  repeated  a  certain 
number  of  times.  They  will  get  up  from  the  chair  to 
go  to  the  door,  and  having  done  so  they  will  return 
and  sit  down  again,  repeating  the  act  as  before.  They 
will  then  walk  a  certain  number  of  steps  backward 
and  forward,  and  any  questions  that  may  be  asked 
them  they  will  ask  for  a  repetition  three  times. 
Insanity  in  women,  especially  in  the  acute  stage,  is  of 
a  more  violent  character,  and  sadder  to  witness  than 
when  occurring  in  men.  All  the  deepest  feelings  of 
emotion  and  love  which  exist  in  the  female  organisa- 
tion are  deranged.  Natural  affection,  so  strong  in 
the  sex,  becomes  often  changed  to  hatred.  Intensity 
of  affection  is  replaced  by  the  deepest  desire  for 
revenge  without  any  apparent  cause. 

A  patient  was  brought  to  my  house  suffering  from 
acute  suicidal  mania,  shouting  out  and  struggling 
violently.  Delusions  that  voices  were  telling  her 
to  conmiit  homicide  and  suicide.  Made  various 
attempts   in  my  presence    to  strangle    herself.     The 


234  MAD  HUMANITY 

case  had  come  on  very  rapidly.  She  had  to  be  removed 
on  an  "  urgency  order  "  to  an  asyhim. 

A  young  girl  suffering  from  rambling,  incoherent 
mania,  in  a  complete  state  of  oblivion,  laughing  inco- 
herently. The  violence  had  been  increasing  of  late, 
and  the  progress  of  the  case  was  sure  but  slow ;  also 
dealt  with  on  an  "  urgency  order." 

A  curious  case  came  under  my  notice.  A  lady  who 
had  a  face  as  if  a  cat  had  scratched  her,  and  who  was 
more  or  less  disfigured.  She  had  strange  notions. 
She  declined  to  wear  new  clothes,  or  in  fact  any  linen 
until  it  had  been  previously  well  washed.  There  was 
want  of  all  mental  control.  She  was  most  vindictive 
towards  her  family,  for  no  reason,  as  they  had  been 
very  kind  to  her.  She  was  slovenly  in  her  appear- 
ance, and  declined  to  use  a  handkerchief  or  a  towel, 
but  in  their  place  she  used  pieces  of  ordinary  paper, 
one  for  her  nose,  one  for  her  ears,  and  another  for  her 
eyes.  She  had  also  threatened  to  commit  suicide. 
At  times  she  became  excited,  and  was  very  uncertain 
in  her  conduct  and  behaviour.  It  was  a  typical  case 
of  moral  insanity,  and  she  had  to  be  carefully  taken 
care  of  consequently. 

Female,  age  fifty -six.  Suffered  from  total  loss 
of  sensibility  and  consciousness  at  times.  This  con- 
dition coming  on  suddenly  and  at  all  hours.  The 
attack  varied  from  five  to  ten  minutes,  during  which 
time  she  was  completely  unconscious.  She  had 
peculiar  nervous  sensations  of  various  descriptions. 
Her  mother  was  hysterical.  She  never  suffered 
from  epilepsy ;  she  described  her  symptoms  as  being 
those  of  a  most  extraordinary  nature.  "  She  cannot 
follow  what  she  reads,  suffers  from  sleeplessness,  says 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  235 

she  is  afraid  to  read  the  papers  lest  she  should  be 
tempted  to  commit  the  various  acts  by  persons  re- 
ported on  in  the  press.  Says  she  is  afraid  she  might 
commit  murder,  and  is  in  a  highly  nervous  condition 
and  full  of  imaginary  sensations."  These  attacks  of 
excitement  appear  to  be  periodical.  She  is  most 
irritable,  imaginative,  and  the  whole  of  her  thoughts 
are  fixed  on  herself. 

Female,  age  thirty.  Attack  coming  on  for  eight 
months.  Commenced  with  delusions  of  suspicion  for 
no  reason  whatever.  These  were  chiefly  regarding  her 
husband,  who  was  not  allowed  even  to  speak  to  a  little 
child.  Then  it  developed  into  days  of  silence,  during 
which  time  she  would  neither  speak  to  anybody  or  do 
anything.  She  was  lost  to  all  sense  of  moral  re- 
sponsibility, and  neglected  her  home  and  herself.  She 
had  been  away  from  home  to  various  places,  and 
though  apparently  she  improved  in  the  first  instance, 
she  ultimately  got  worse.  When  she  was  first  taken 
ill  her  expression  was  one  of  hardness,  and  as  the 
disease  progressed  her  strange  expression  disappeared, 
and  she  became  more  resigned  and  submissive.  She 
declined  her  food  at  times,  but  nevertheless  expressed 
herself  as  feeling  very  happy.  Her  father  committed 
suicide,  and  she  often  threatened  it  herself.  She  had 
no  headache,  but  at  times  she  appeared  quite  unable 
to  realise  anything  that  went  on  round  about  her. 
Small  things  seemed  to  worry  her,  and  she  was  in- 
tensely jealous.  There  was  a  constant  dread  that 
something  was  going  to  happen,  and  she  was  waiting 
for  this  crisis. 

Female,  age  twenty -five,  suffered  from  mental  de- 
pression of  eighteen  months'  duration.     Heard  noises 


236  MAD  HUMANITY 

in  the  head  like  steam-engine.  Memory  very  variable, 
"  takes  interest  in  what  goes  on.  Says  she  had  made 
attempts  on  her  life."  Suffered  from  headache,  tore 
up  all  her  clothes. 

Female,  age  thirty-eight.  Want  of  will-power, 
decision,  and  mental  balance.  Always  discussing 
symptoms ;  w^orries  about  trifles ;  very  excitable ; 
nervous  history  on  both  sides  of  the  family. 

Woman,  age  thirty-three.  Daughter  of  a  retired 
Indian  judge  ;  educated  in  Scotland  ;  sent  to  England, 
age  sixteen,  and  placed  at  school  there.  In  conse- 
quence of  her  mental  condition,  she  was  unable  to  be 
taught  the  ordinary  lessons,  and  she  was  sent  back  to 
India,  where  she  was  treated  unkindly.  Some  years 
afterwards  she  returned  to  England,  but  being  found 
wandering  about  London  she  was  placed  in  the  work- 
house. She  was  sent  to  a  convent  in  the  neighbour- 
hood  of  London.  She  became  very  stubborn  and  very 
excitable,  and  she  left  the  convent.  She  suffered  from 
headache,  loss  of  memory,  irritability,  want  of  power 
of  concentration.  She  was  taken  care  of,  in  conse- 
quence of  being  homeless,  by  a  female  rescue  society, 
where  she  was  very  kindly  treated,  and  where  I  saw 
her,  but  in  consequence  of  her  mental  condition  getting 
worse  and  becoming  suicidal  it  was  necessary  to  place 
her  in  an  institution. 

The  following  is  a  remarkable  case  of  sudden 
recovery.  The  patient  was  a  pleasant  little  woman, 
of  delicate  make,  and  rather  feeble  constitution. 
The  wife  of  a  young  farmer,  just  commencing  life, 
whose  slender  resources  w^ere  quite  exhausted  in 
providing  for,  and  taking  care  of  her  during  her 
sickness  and  insanity.     Her  derangement  was  caused 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  237 

by  convulsions,  and  at  the  time  of  admission 
these  had  continued  between  five  and  six  months, 
without  a  lucid  interval.  When  received  she  was 
noisy,  incoherent,  and  careless  in  her  habits  and  per- 
sonal appearance,  and  very  much  emaciated  and 
reduced  in  strength.  So  wretched  was  her  condi- 
tion, and  so  few  the  remaining  traces  of  intelligence 
in  her  poor  thin  little  face,  that  for  a  long  period  her 
case  was  regarded  as  utterly  hopeless  and  lost.  For 
weeks  she  continued  talking  and  muttering  to  herself 
in  the  most  imbecile  and  childish  manner,  with  very 
little  intermission  either  night  or  day,  frequently 
lying  down  upon  the  floor,  or  sitting  in  some  retired 
corner  of  the  building  for  hours  together.  Every 
effort  was  made  for  her  personal  comfort  and  relief 
by  a  properly  regulated  diet  and  such  medicines  as 
were  suitable ;  but  it  was  a  long  period  before  there 
was  any  visible  token  of  amendment  or  encouraging 
circumstance.  At  length  her  scattered  senses  and 
bewildered  mind  seemed  to  be  less  confounded,  her 
appetite  improved,  and  she  began  to  inquire  a  little, 
and  show  some  degree  of  interest  in  surrounding 
objects,  and  to  request  employment,  which  was  given 
with  the  happiest  effect. 

But  still  her  mind  continued  weak,  and  frequently 
disposed  to  wander,  and  there  seemed  to  be  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  regard  to  her  personal  identity. 
For  several  wrecks  she  believed  herself  to  be  a  horse, 
or  cat,  or  some  strange  animal.  One  day,  however, 
she  suddenly  came  to  herself  in  a  manner  equally 
simple  and  surprising.  She  was  quietly  engaged 
with  her  needle,  and  after  looking  steadily  for  some 
time  at  her  hand,  she  all  at  once  exclaimed :  "  Well 


238  MAD  HUMANITY 

now,  do  see,  if  there  ain't  that  same  little  odd  scar- 
behind  my  thumb,  and  now  I  know  it's  me,  sure 
enough  !  "  From  that  time  forward  every  trouble  and 
delusive  feeling  entirely  vanished  from  her  mind,  and 
she  was  perfectly  restored  to  the  enjoyment  of  reason 
and  health — a  well-behaved,  industrious,  and  excellent 
woman,  fully  sensible  of  the  great  change  effected  in 
her  condition,  and  very  grateful  for  the  services  and 
the  kind  treatment  she  had  received  at  the  institu- 
tion. 

The  following  illustrations  of  the  power  which 
patients  sometimes  are  capable  of  manifesting  in  the 
concealment  of  their  delusions  are  interesting  : — 

In  one,  a  female  of  very  strong  passions,  there 
were  a  variety  of  hallucinations,  both  of  vision  and 
hearing.  People's  faces  appeared  to  her  to  change 
both  in  form  and  colour.  She  heard  voices,  and  held 
converse  with  imaginary  forms.  Under  the  influence 
of  an  ardent  wish  to  obtain  her  discharge,  she  declared 
that  she  had  got  entirely  rid  of  all  her  false  impres- 
sions. She  even  went  so  far  as  to  explain  that  a 
lecture  on  ventriloquism,  which  was  delivered  to  the 
inmates  on  one  occasion,  had  been  the  means  of 
explaining  to  her  how  she  might  have  been  deceived 
with  regard  to  the  fancied  sounds.  It  would  have 
been  difficult  for  a  stranger  to  have  discovered  in  her 
any  trace  of  insanity ;  yet,  after  maintaining  her  pro- 
priety of  conduct,  and  preserving  her  secret  for  some 
time,  she  suddenly  gave  way  to  violent  passion  on 
finding  that  she  was  not  immediately  to  obtain  her 
liberation ;  and  in  the  midst  of  this  ebullition  gave 
full  indications  that  all  her  hallucinations  still  main- 
tained their  place  in  her  mind. 


Some  Types  of  Madwomen-. 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  239 

Another  case  was  one  of  still  greater  interest. 
It  also  occurred  in  a  female  of  amiable  dispositions, 
fond  of  reading,  industrious  in  her  habits,  and  mild 
and  gentle  in  her  ordinary  demeanour.  She  enter- 
tained an  illusion  that,  although  in  her  body  and 
person  she  was  J.  A.  L.,  yet  that  her  body  was  the 
actual  residence  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  which  had  been 
incarnate  in  our  Saviour,  and  was  now  incarnate  in 
her.  With  singular  inconsistency  she  wrote  a  novel, 
and  at  all  times  readily  joined  in  the  song  or  the 
dance.  An  attempt  was  made,  by  powerful  moral 
agency,  to  uproot  the  delusion,  and  apparently  with 
perfect  success.  For  a  time  she  defended  her  position 
with  great  obstinacy  and  cleverness,  and  seemed 
immovable ;  but  the  combined  influence  of  reasoning, 
ridicule,  and  appeals  made  to  her  other  intellectual 
and  moral  faculties,  at  last  led  her  to  renounce  and 
repudiate  her  illusion.  She  then  also  commenced  to 
look  upon  it  with  ridicule,  and  appeared  to  be  completely 
free  from  its  influence.  Some  time  afterwards,  when 
preparations  were  being  made  for  her  removal,  the 
disappointment  of  some  expectations,  which  she  had 
been  led  to  entertain  rec^ardinoj  the  kindness  of  her 
friends  on  leaving  the  institution,  brought  back  all 
her  former  symptoms,  combined  with  others  of  a 
similar  character ;  and  from  her  own  statement,  in 
subsequent  conversations,  it  appeared  almost  certain 
that  her  illusions  had  never  really  been  dispelled,  but 
were  only  held  in  abeyance  and  concealed  for  the 
purpose  of  gaining  esteem  and  obtaining  her  dis- 
charge. 


240  MAD  HUMANITY 


2.  Madmen 


One  remarkable  case  was  a  gentleman  who  had 
a  delusion  that  every  dog  that  touched  him  in  the 
street  contaminated  him.  He  was  thirty -six  years, 
of  a  timid  and  reserved  disposition,  sensitive,  and 
very  irritable.  He  apparently  was  able  to  transact 
his  ordinary  business  routine  to  the  satisfaction  of  his 
employers,  and  held  a  public  position  of  trust.  He 
was  very  self-conscious,  and  this  was  a  most  marked 
feature  in  his  case.  A  few  years  before  he  took 
medical  advice,  he  had  confirmed  ideas  of  homicide, 
his  desire  being  to  kill  some  one,  but  he  apparently 
was  not  particular  as  to  his  victim.  This  delusion 
was  only  uppermost  in  his  mind  for  a  short  period  of 
time,  and  was  replaced  by  another  with  reference  to 
the  dogs.  He  had  a  horror  of  these  animals,  and 
nothing  he  could  do  would  rid  his  mind  of  this  dread. 
Every  evening,  before  retiring  to  rest,  he  would  look 
under  his  bed  to  see  whether  any  dogs  were  secreted. 
He  was  constantly  changing  his  lodgings,  from  the 
fact  that  dogs  were  more  or  less  associated  with  the 
occupants  of  the  house  where  he  might  then  be  stay- 
ing. The  appointment  he  held  was  that  of  Surveyor 
of  Taxes.  He  found,  however,  that  some  of  the  clerks 
who  came  to  his  ofi&ce  where  he  worked  during  the 
day  had  dogs  of  their  own  at  their  homes,  so  that  his 
mind  at  once  became  unsettled,  and  in  consequence  of 
this  he  gave  up  his  appointment.  He  then  went  to 
stay  at  an  hotel,  but  on  finding  out  that  the  occupant 
of  the  room  opposite  to  his  had  a  dog,  and  that  the 
chambermaid  who  made  his  bed  also  attended  to  the 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  241 

occupant  opposite  who  owned  the  dog,  he  declined  to 
occupy  the  bed  made  by  the  chambermaid,  because  he 
believed  she  must  have  touched  the  dog,  and  would 
thus  contaminate  him.  The  sight  of  a  dog  nearly 
drove  him  to  distraction,  and  if,  when  walking  in  the 
street,  a  dog  happened  to  touch  his  clothes,  he  went 
home  at  once  and  changed  his  suit.  His  wardrobe 
was  thus  full  of  suits  of  clothes,  only  worn  once  in 
consequence  of  having  been  touched  by  dogs.  His 
whole  conversation  and  attention  were  entirely  ab- 
sorbed on  this  one  subject,  which  was  ever  uppermost 
and  foremost  in  his  mind. 

He  was  advised  to  place  himself  as  a  voluntary 
patient  in  some  large  establishment  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  London.  He  agreed  to  do  so,  but  on 
going  down  to  make  his  arrangements  to  stay,  he 
unfortunately  saw  the  medical  superintendent  walking 
in  the  grounds  with  two  small  dogs  at  his  heels.  He 
at  once  returned  to  town,  and  since  then  has  dis- 
appeared from  view. 

A  man  aged  fifty-three  suffered  from  homicidal  and 
suicidal  mania,  constantly  raving  about  being  killed, 
and  also  threatened  to  kill  people,  or  commit  suicide. 
These  delusions  were  apparently  much  worse  at  night, 
whilst  during  the  day  he  was  comparatively  quiet  and 
rational.  He  imagined  that  people  were  drugging 
him.  He  was  irritable,  memory  much  impaired,  suf- 
fered from  loss  of  power,  was  very  emotional  and 
deficient  in  all  mental  concentration.  His  speech 
was  tremulous  and  thick,  which  was  worse  at  night- 
time. 

I  remember  a  well-known  Shakespearian  actor  who 
suffered  from  melancholia  from  over  mental  labour. 

R 


242  MAD  HUMANITY 

He  was  comparatively  well  during  the  day,  but  as  the 
hour  approached  for  him  to  have  attended  in  the 
usual  way,  had  lie  been  well  enough,  to  his  theatrical 
duties,  he  became  acutely  maniacal,  the  attack  ulti- 
mately subsiding  as  the  hour  of  midnight  approached, 
when  the  performance  would  have  been  over.  I  was 
present  at  his  deathbed. 

Youth  aged  twenty-three.  His  attack  had  been 
coming  on  for  some  years.  Suffered  from  loss  of 
memory,  inability  to  recall  things,  misspelling  words, 
very  nervous  disposition,  and  mental  debility.  For 
some  time  before  coming  under  observation  he  had 
suffered  from  continuous  headache.  He  appeared  to 
have  overworked  himself  at  college.  Woke  up  in 
the  morning  entirely  unrefreshed,  and  it  was  a 
long  time  before  his  brain  would  come  into  action. 
During  conversation  at  times  there  was  great  difficulty 
in  finding  an  explanatory  word  which  would  describe 
liis  symptoms.  Very  sensitive  and  very  drowsy. 
Patient  ultimately  recovered. 

Gentleman  aged  forty -five,  ill  for  a  year.  Married 
man  with  five  children.  Engaged  in  an  office  where 
a  number  of  girls  were  employed.  "  Says  he  is  con- 
stantly chaffed  by  these  girls,  and  every  girl  that 
speaks  to  him  makes  him  blush.  He  is  morbidly 
sensitive,  and  fancies  that  people  look  at  him  in  the 
street."  This  delusion  increased,  and  he  became  a  con- 
firmed lunatic.  The  delusions,  though  small  at  first, 
became  of  gigantic  proportion,  and  he  imagined  that 
every  one  was  looking  at  him  or  talking  about  him, 
and  his  mental  condition  became  one  of  confirmed 
insanity. 

I  was  consulted  with  reference  to  a  very  peculiar 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  243 

case  by  the  relatives  and  friends  of  an  English  subject, 
who  for  some  time  had  conducted  himself  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  warrant  my  advising  his  being  placed 
under  proper  supervision.  I  had  many  interviews 
with  his  friends,  and,  after  a  thorough  examination 
of  the  gentleman,  I  advised  that  certain  steps  should 
be  promptly  taken,  cautioning  them  that  unless  this 
w^as  done  something  serious  might  happen. 

As  is  often  the  case,  however,  in  such  matters,  the 
relatives  wavered,  writing  to  me  that  inasmuch  as  he 
was  better,  they  would  delay  taking  the  steps  I 
advised. 

Within  a  few  weeks  of  my  examination  the  gentle- 
man received  an  invitation  from  a  firm  of  merchants 
in  Eotterdam,  for  whom  for  many  years  he  had  acted 
as  agent  in  Liverpool.  Most  imprudently  his  relatives 
allowed  him  to  proceed  to  Eotterdam  unaccompanied. 
On  his  arrival  there  he  was  invited  to  call  on  the 
firm,  and  a  paper  w^as  given  him  to  sign,  which  he  did. 
He  was  also  entertained  at  dinner. 

It  appears  that  this  paper  contained  an  admission 
of  the  fact  that  he  was  indebted  to  them  for  a  certain 
sum  of  money.  He  was  asked  to  call  the  following 
day,  when  to  his  astonishment  he  was  arrested  and 
placed  in  jail  in  Eotterdam  for  debt,  the  law^  being 
that  if  a  foreign  subject  owes  a  Dutch  subject  money, 
he  can  be  arrested  should  he  put  his  foot  in  Holland, 
and  is  liable  to  imprisonment  for  seven  years. 

The  lawyer,  accompanied  by  the  unfortunate  man's 
wife,  called  on  me,  and  instructed  me  to  go  over  to 
Eotterdam  and  interview  the  authorities  there.  We 
started  the  same  evening,  and  the  next  day  called 
upon  those  in  authority,  but  I  w^as  informed  that  I 


244  MAD  HUMANITY 

could  not  legally  be  heard  for  at  least  two  months. 
I  saw  and  examined  the  accused  in  prison,  and  sent 
my  statement  as  to  his  mental  condition  to  the 
Government.  I  also  called  upon  some  of  the  lunacy 
experts  there.  I  found  that  nothing  could  be  done 
in  the  matter,  and  I  returned  with  the  lawyer  and 
wife  of  the  patient  to  England. 

A  few  days  after  my  arrival  I  forwarded  a  letter 
to  the  Times  newspaper,  in  which  I  gave  full  par- 
ticulars, with  the  result  that,  much  to  my  astonish- 
ment, the  patient,  his  wife,  and  solicitor,  all  walked 
into  my  consulting-room  in  London  a  few  days  after. 
My  letter  had  been  translated  into  all  the  Dutch 
papers,  and  so  much  weight  had  been  caused  by  my 
interference  in  the  case,  that  they  would  not  any 
longer  keep  him  in  prison. 

Upon  investigating  the  accounts  of  the  firm  sub- 
sequently, 1  am  informed  it  w^as  foimd  that,  instead 
of  the  patient  owing  the  firm  money,  the  books  dis- 
closed the  indebtedness  of  the  firm  to  the  patient. 

The  explanation  of  the  whole  matter  was  as 
follows : — The  patient  was  an  important  agent  of  the 
Dutch  merchants,  who,  having  heard  rumours  that  it 
was  his  intention  to  leave  their  firm  and  transfer  his 
interests  to  a  rival  one,  thought  that  the  best  thing 
they  could  do,  knowing  his  weak  mental  state,  was  to 
entrap  him  in  the  way  I  have  just  mentioned ;  but 
they  were  thwarted  in  their  plans. 

A  short  time  ago  a  gentleman  called  upon  me  and 
wanted  me  to  examine  his  father,  who  was  squandering 
his  money  very  rapidly,  having  just  wasted  £16,000. 

A  mental  expert  who  had  been  called  in  had  given 
as  his  opinion  that  it  was  only  a  case  of  v>^ickedness 


STRANGE  LUXACY  CASES  245 

from  drink;  and  that  nothing  could  be  done  but  to  let 
him  drink.  I  saw  him  the  same  afternoon,  and  on 
his  table  was  a  cheque  for  £2000,  which  he  was  on 
the  point  of  sending  to  his  lawyer,  who  was  playing 
into  his  hands,  to  cash.  The  son  was  naturally 
anxious,  as  the  property,  which  was  being  squandered, 
he  would  inherit  on  his  father's  decease,  and  in 
addition  to  this  he  was  about  to  marry.  I  diagnosed 
the  case  as  being  one  of  general  paralysis  of  the 
insane ;  and  the  history  of  the  case,  as  presented  to 
me,  was  as  follows  : — 

The  man  was  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of 
England,  who  had  met  with  an  accident  in  the  hunt- 
ing field  in  1875,  injuring  his  spine.  Previous  to 
that  time  he  was  in  perfectly  sound  mind,  and  always 
conducted  himself  in  a  proper  way.  Some  months 
after  the  accident  he  had  a  paralytic  seizure,  and  it 
was  at  once  manifest  that  his  mental  powers  had  been 
impaired.  In  consequence  of  the  seizure  his  face  was 
drawn  down  on  one  side,  and  he  had  a  difficulty  in  his 
speech.  After  this  he  took  no  notice  whatever  of  his 
affairs.  He  kept  no  accounts,  and  would  frequently 
carry  large  sums  of  money  about  with  him.  He  would 
also  order  a  quantity  of  furniture  for  which  he  had  no 
use  whatever.  Sometimes  he  managed  to  countermand 
the  order,  while  at  other  times  he  had  great  difficulty  in 
doing  so.  He  also  sent  home  large  quantities  of  fish, 
fruit,  and  other  articles.  The  food  was  given  to  the 
dogs,  but  sometimes  there  was  such  a  large  quantity 
sent  that  even  the  animals  could  not  eat  it,  and  his 
friends  had  to  bury  it.  He  then  developed  a  craving  for 
drink,  which  increased  in  1889,  and  he  frequently 
became  intoxicated.     His  expenditure  had  been  very 


246  MAD  HUMANITY 

large,  considerably  over  £2000  beyond  his  income, 
which  was  about  £5000  a  year. 

His  conversation  at  this  time  was  very  rambling. 
He  could  not  talk  coherently  for  any  length  of  time. 
In  the  spring  of  1891  he  was  taken  to  Tunbridge 
Wells,  and  after  that  to  St.  Leonards.  He  treated 
his  wife,  son,  and  sisters  with  general  unkindness,  and 
utterly  neglected  them.  He  also  used  very  strange 
language  towards  them. 

On  some  of  the  hottest  days  in  summer  he  would 
insist  on  making  large  fires  all  over  the  house,  while  at 
St.  Leonards  he  wanted  to  walk  about  during  the  day 
with  only  his  night-shirt  on,  and  a  dress  coat  over  it. 

His  son  informed  me  that  his  memory  had  been 
failing  since  1889,  and  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
putting  his  fingers  in  his  mouth  and  puffing  away 
under  the  impression  that  he  was  smoking  cigars. 
He  also  had  a  habit  of  going  to  bed  with  all  his 
clothes  on,  and  would  take  up  to  his  bedroom  a  red- 
hot  poker  in  order  to  keep  the  fires  lighted  all  night, 
even  in  the  hottest  weather.  I  advised  that  he 
should  be  placed  in  an  institution  on  the  Continent, 
near  Brussels,  where  he  would  be  out  of  the  way  of 
those  who  desired  to  encourage  him  in  his  ruthless 
expenditure  and  in  his  delusions,  which  was  evidently 
being  done  when  I  first  saw^  him.  The  cheque  which 
he  had  drawn,  and  which  he  was  on  the  point  of 
getting  negotiated,  I  managed  to  stop,  and  within  a 
few  hours  I  had  him  safely  located  in  the  institution. 
A  few  months  after  this  I  had  his  property  duly  pro- 
tected for  the  benefit  of  his  son,  wife,  and  family,  a  due 
allowance  being  made  for  his  own  maintenance. 

The  case  created  quite  a  stir  in  England,  for  it 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  247 

was  the  first  case  in  which  a  Commission  of  Lunacy- 
had  been  held  on  any  one  who  was  at  the  time  of 
such  inquisition  out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  English 
courts.  The  Commission  had  therefore  to  be  held  at 
Dover,  the  nearest  English  seaport  to  the  place  in 
which  the  lunatic  was  then  located.  The  jury  con- 
sisted of  twenty-three  members,  who  heard  evidence 
in  the  absence  of  the  individual.  I  was  one  of  the 
principal  witnesses  examined.  The  jury  having  heard 
my  evidence  and  that  of  the  distinguished  foreign 
alienist  who  attended,  brought  in  a  verdict  of  mental 
unsoundness  and  inability  to  manage  himself  and  his 
affairs.  At  the  date  of  my  visit  to  him  in  London, 
just  previous  to  his  being  placed  on  the  Continent, 
the  following  is  a  description  of  the  symptoms  he 
exhibited : — 

I  found  him  in  a  state  of  great  mental  excite- 
ment, walking  up  and  down  the  room.  He  seemed 
to  be  pleased  to  see  me,  although  I  was  a  perfect 
stranger  to  him.  He  cordially  greeted  me  and  asked 
me  to  dine  with  him.  He  asked  no  questions  as  to 
the  purport  of  my  visit. 

His  speech  was  defective,  and  his  articulation 
impaired.  His  gait  was  unsteady,  and  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  was  like  that  of  a  drunken  man,  although 
he  was  perfectly  sober  at  the  time.  He  was  in  my 
opinion  suffering  from  general  paralysis,  the  result  of 
the  accident  I  have  referred  to. 

I  disagreed  altogether  with  the  previously  ex- 
pressed opinion  of  the  other  expert  who  had 
examined  him,  as  to  the  case  being  simply  one  of 
intoxication  of  a  chronic  nature,  and  my  opinion 
proved  correct,  as  the  case  ultimately  turned  out. 


248  MAD  HUMANITY 

The  craving  for  drink  was  the  effect,  not  the  cause, 
of  the  malady.  At  the  time  of  my  examination  I 
considered  that  the  disease  had  advanced  into  its 
second  stage,  and  that  the  result  of  the  case  was  to 
my  mind  inevitable.  I  prognosed  that  he  could  not 
possibly  recover  from  the  malady,  which  was  pro- 
gressive in  its  nature  and  gradual  in  the  course  of  its 
development. 

From  the  rapid  diagnosis  at  my  first  visit  and  the 
immediate  and  prompt  action,  I  vv^as  thus  enabled  to 
save  the  estate  from  ruin,  which  must  necessarily  have 
ensued  had  some  steps  like  those  I  advised  not  been 
taken. 

A  patient  had  sudden  loss  of  memory;  was  constantly 
taking  rooms  and  forgetting  the  locality.  Did  not  recol- 
lect where  he  slept  recently.  Broke  down  completely  ; 
absolute  want  of  mental  balance.  This  gentleman  was 
an  American  citizen,  his  family  well  know^n  in  the 
United  States,  and  he  was  helpless  and  forlorn  in 
London  whilst  in  this  condition.  He  was  advised 
to  place  himself  voluntarily  in  an  establishment,  and 
he  made  a  complete  recovery. 

Six  years  ago  a  man  had  a  fractured  thigh, 
and  injury  to  his  skull.  He  apparently  recovered 
from  this,  and  was  able  to  go  on  with  his  work. 
At  the  time  of  the  accident  he  had  a  sudden  shock, 
and  what  he  then  saw  made  such  a  great  im- 
pression on  his  mind  that  he  was  unable  to  shake 
it  off',  and  it  was  always  uppermost  in  his  thoughts. 
He  kept  starting  and  jumping  in  his  sleep.  Memory 
was  very  bad  for  recent  events,  and  there  was  no 
headache.  When  reading  a  book  he  forgot  what  he 
read  half  an  hour  afterwards.     Previous  to  the  accident 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  249 

the  mental  condition  was  all  right,  but  since  then  he 
became  irritable,  excitable,  and  emotional. 

Gentleman  aged  thirty.  Always  been  more  or  less 
strange,  but  never  been  under  supervision.  Father 
was  a  great  drinker,  patient  was  very  nervous,  and 
over-conscientious.  If  asked  to  execute  a  commission 
he  would  have  an  idea  that  he  had  not  given  the  right 
change.     He  had  a  fear  lest  he  should  commit  suicide. 

Gentleman,  aged  thirty-four.  There  was  insanity 
in  his  family.  Feared  lest  he  should  commit  murder 
and  suicide.  He  dreaded  his  own  safety,  which  was 
beyond  all  self-control.  One  brother  committed 
suicide,  his  mother  attempted  suicide  in  an  asylum, 
and  his  grandmother  attempted  both  murder  and 
suicide.  He  was  very  anxious  to  go  under  proper 
control,  and  said  that  something  seemed  to  impel  him 
to  stick  a  knife  into  some  one.  He  was  quite  unable 
to  collect  his  thoughts,  and  he  was  placed  under  super- 
vision. 

I  recollect  the  case  of  a  gentleman,  aged  fifty-two, 
who  suffered  from  nervous  debility,  and  had  periodical 
attacks  of  deafness  and  noises  in  the  head.  He  suffered 
from  great  pain  in  the  forehead,  which  came  on 
regularly  every  night  after  waking  at  3  A.M.  This 
condition  came  on  suddenly  in  the  night,  and  it  caused 
him  to  feel  as  if  he  was  staggering.  His  sleep  was 
variable,  and  during  this  he  groaned  and  moaned,  and 
threw  his  arms  about.  He  was  a  hard  worker,  and 
had  a  great  deal  of  mental  excitement.  Sometimes  he 
became  beyond  control,  and  smashed  the  things  about 
the  room  without  any  warning.  He  very  much 
improved  under  treatment,  and  when  I  last  saw  him 
he  was  comparatively  well. 


250  MAD  HUMANITY 

A  gentleman,  lodging  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
London,  returned  one  evening  and  retired  to  bed 
early.  He  was  unable  to  sleep,  and  hallucinations 
occurred.  He  rose  at  4  a.m.,  and  thought  the  landlord 
was  pursuing  him ;  he  started  off  to  run  out  of  the 
house.  As  he  went  along  he  imagined  that  various 
voices  were  speaking  to  him,  and  that  he  got  through 
the  hedge  to  get  into  heaven ;  this  condition  lasted 
for  half-an-hour.  He  felt  during  the  whole  of  this 
time  supremely  happy.  After  a  period  of  time  he 
again  realised  the  fact  that  he  was  on  earth.  He 
continued  his  walk  towards  King's  Cross,  still  fancying 
that  he  was  followed ;  he  spoke  to  a  policeman,  and 
in  consequence  of  his  strange  conversation  he  wanted 
to  give  him  in  charge,  his  conversation  being  like  that 
of  a  person  suffering  from  an  attack  of  delirium 
tremens. 

It  has  been  stated  that  insane  patients  are 
incapable  of  acting  in  concert  or  in  combination,  and 
on  this  account  they  are  more  easily  controlled.  It  is 
very  rare  that  two  or  more  patients  act  in  unison,  but 
the  case  I  am  about  to  describe  will  illustrate  an 
exception  to  this.  Four  patients,  an  American,  a 
German,  an  Englishman,  and  a  Scotchman,  were 
inmates  of  the  same  asylum,  and  all  occupied  the  same 
gallery.  They  were  all  comfortably  situated,  and 
doing  well,  especially  the  first  three,  who  were  con- 
sidered improving,  and  gave  daily  promise  of  favourable 
results.  But  becoming  uneasy  and  discontented,  they 
began  to  consult  together  and  contrive  ways  of  escape 
from  the  building,  encouraged  by  the  descendant  of 
the  Scot,  who  had  long  been  a  troublesome  fellow,  and 
was  frequently  detected  in  attempts  to  break  out.     At 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  251 

length  a  plan  was  proposed  by  the  American,  which 
met  with  general  acceptance,  for  it  was  well  calculated 
to  outwit  their  friends,  the  doctor  and  his  attendants, 
provided  they  could  safely  elude  the  perpetual  curiosity 
and  vigilance  of  a  very  stirring  gentleman  in  the  same 
class,  whom  they  were  afraid  to  trust,  well  knowing 
his  candour  and  disposition  in  such  matters,  and  being 
fully  apprised  of  his  partiality  for  the  head  of  the 
institution,  with  whom  he  had  made  a  very  satis- 
factory contract  to  study  medicine  for  the  period  of 
twenty-one  years.  But  as  this  famous  student  was 
very  fond  of  preaching,  and  could  easily  be  set  a-going 
at  that,  it  was  proposed  that  one  or  two  of  the  band 
should  keep  him  at  this  employment  whilst  the  others 
were  engaged  in  carrying  out  their  plan.  Having 
procured  the  rusty  blade  of  an  old  trowel,  that  some 
one  had  carelessly  left  within  reach,  they  commenced 
daily  operations  upon  one  of  the  front  windows,  and 
at  last  succeeded  in  removing  all  the  screws  and  other 
fastenings  by  which  it  was  secured,  until  it  could  at 
any  time  be  easily  removed ;  carefully  disposing  of  all 
dirt,  and  filling  up  the  screw  holes  with  soft  bread  to 
prevent  detection.  All  things  being  ready  for  action, 
they  selected  an  evening  immediately  after  the 
commencement  of  the  religious  services,  as  the  best 
time  to  take  out  the  window,  and  give  them  all  an 
opportunity  to  get  out,  thinking  it  probable  that  their 
unsuspecting  attendant  would,  upon  that  occasion, 
accompany  other  patients,  and  be  a  short  time  out  of 
the  w^ay. 

Accordingly,  when  the  time  arrived,  and  the  last 
stroke  of  the  service  bell  had  fairly  died  away,  and 
they  had  seen  their  attendant  leave  his  place,  they 


252  MAD  HUMANITY 

began  by  mounting  the  student  upon  a  chair  at  the 
opposite  end  of  the  hall,  with  his  back  towards  the 
unscrewed  window,  and  giving  him  his  favourite  text ; 
the  iron  sash  was  quickly  removed  while  the  preacher 
was  in  full  swing,  and  each  in  succession  commenced 
their  hasty  escape.  But  it  so  happened  that  one  of 
the  ladies  attached  to  the  institution  was  returning  at 
that  moment  from  church  in  the  city ;  she  gave  the 
alarm  to  an  attendant  in  sight,  but  only  in  time  to 
secure  the  unlucky  Scot,  just  as  he  was  reaching  the 
ground  in  jumping  from  the  window.  The  others  had 
got  down  before  him,  and,  taking  to  their  heels,  were 
soon  out  of  sight  in  the  neighbouring  wood.  Every 
hand  that  could  be  spared  from  duty  immediately 
started  in  pursuit,  and  it  was  but  a  short  time  before 
a  faithful  and  active  attendant,  well  up  to  business  of 
this  nature,  got  upon  their  route,  and  succeeded  in 
taking  the  whole  of  them  together,  at  the  distance  of 
twelve  miles  from  the  asylum.  He  brought  them  all 
back  in  a  farmer's  waggon  hired  for  the  purpose. 

They  were  kindly  received,  and  returned  to  their 
old  quarters,  where  in  due  time  the  German  and  the 
Englishman  were  restored  fully  to  their  reason.  The 
American  afterwards  broke  out  again  and  ran  off,  but 
he  was  so  nearly  well  that  he  arrived  at  home  safe, 
and  in  the  possession  of  his  reason. 

Hallucinations  coming  on  between  the  state  of 
sleeping  and  waking  are  often  the  precursory  signs  of 
an  attack  of  madness.  A  man  woke  up  in  the  middle 
of  the  night,  and  struck  with  an  axe  a  phantom  which 
he  saw  before  him.  Shortly  after  that  he  killed  his 
wife,  with  whom  he  had  always  lived  on  the  best  of 
terms.     Before  that  he  had  neyer  shown  the  least  dis- 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  253 

position  to  insanity,  nor  did.  he  ever  afterwards.  The 
case  was  exceedingly  interesting  to  the  medical  jurists, 
and  was  proved  by  consultants  that  the  murder 
was  committed  between  sleeping  and  waking.  This 
opinion  was  considered  most  unsatisfactory,  as  it  led  to 
the  idea  that  a  man  might  commit  a  murder  in  the 
night,  and  when  found  in  the  morning  be  in  a  perfectly 
sound  state  of  mind,  and  would  be  allowed  to  plead 
an  hallucination.  There  is  foundation  for  the  sup- 
position that  the  insane  are  liable  to  an  access  of 
paroxysm  after  sleep.  Thirty  instances  I  know  of 
go  to  prove  that  this  phenomenon  occurs.  These 
attacks  are  the  forerunners  of  insanity,  especially  in  those 
predisposed  to  it.  Any  hallucinations  between  sleeping 
and  waking  foretell  the  coming  on  of  disease ;  it  may 
be  months  before  it  will  show  itself,  but  it  is  generally 
not  more  than  two  or  three  days. 

The  particulars  of  a  case  of  insanity  in  a  deaf  mute 
are  recorded,  as  presenting  in  its  progress  some  inter- 
esting psychological  phenomena.     They  were — 

1.  That  he  wrote  his  delusion  as  to  his  capability 
of  speaking  in  the  same  imperfect  and  incomplete 
manner  that  paralytics  do. 

2.  That  he  spoke  incoherently  on  his  fingers. 

3.  That  he  lost  the  knowledge  of  the  digital 
alphabet  gradually,  recollecting  a  few  of  the  signs, 
such  as  S  and  H,  much  longer  than  others,  and 
repeating  them  incessantly  in  his  vain  endeavours  to 
render  himself  understood. 

A  young  man  of  high  promise,  of  amiable  dis- 
position, superior  intellect,  and  fine  moral  perceptions, 
who  had  pursued,  with  ardour  and  success,  a  long 
course  of  classical,  literary,  and  theological  study,  had 


254  MAD  HUMANITY 

been  for  years  haunted  by  a  single  word.  He  had 
long  been  able  to  preserve  his  self-control,  and  had 
carried  his  secret  with  him  in  the  discharge  of  his 
daily  duties.  But  the  horrid  word  was  continually 
before  him.  Everything  suggested  it,  or  led  him  to 
fear  it  would  be  suggested.  It  appeared  to  pursue  all 
his  conceptions  with  the  untiring  activity  and  relent- 
less persecution  of  a  demon.  It  gained  upon  him 
every  day,  until  at  last  it  met  him  in  every  line  he 
read,  and  seemed  to  lurk  under  every  placard,  signboard, 
and  door-plate.  Every  sound  suggested  it  to  his 
terrified  imagination.  He  could  not  listen  for  fear 
that  each  word  might  be  the  one  he  so  much  dreaded ; 
and  feared  to  speak  lest  it  should  escape  from  his  own 
lips.  This  monad  became  at  last  the  terror  of  his 
existence ;  and  he  could  no  longer  trust  himself  alone, 
lest  he  should  be  impelled  to  some  desperate  act,  to 
save  himself  from  his  loathsome  and  inveterate  foe. 

The  following  is  a  communication  of  a  patient,  who 
at  the  present  moment  is  in  an  asylum  suffering  from 
hallucinations  of  hearing  and  delusions  of  persecution. 
The  letter  is  more  or  less  incoherent,  but  curiously 
enough,  accompanying  the  letter,  there  is  a  more  or 
less  lucid  observation  on  the  question  of  drink  alluded 
to  in  the  Eeport  of  the  Lunacy  Commissioners. 

"  On  7th  August,  after  undergoing  a  course  of 
starvation  and  apparently  morphine  poisoning,  I  wrote 
to  the  doctor  as  follows : — '  Permit  me  to  remind  you 
that  you  promised  me  some  stimulant.  Those  voices 
become  worse  the  more  ansemic  I  become.'  I  protest 
against  my  private  affairs  being  discussed  in  my 
hearing  here.  Following  all  those  written  protests, 
which  I  keep  in  my  letter-book,  there  came  a  double 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  255 

dose  of  filthy  drug  last  night,  the  occurrence  of  which 
I  jot  down  in  my  medical  and  personal  note-book. 
The  same  system  of  vile  malpractice  has  been  going 
on  here  for  a  long  time,  which  I  can  only  describe  as 
hocussing  or  mental  moonlighting.  To  vary  the 
treatment  my  food  is  occasionally  drugged  with  some 
depressant,  e.g.  potassium  bromide  or  sodium  carbonate, 
when  a  variant  is  wanted  they  use  a  little  tartarated 
antimony,  or  perhaps  some  subchloride  of  mercury ; 
they  have  even  gone  the  length  of  using  cantharides ; 
if  that  be  not  a  slight  indictment  I  do  not  know  what 
is.  The  servant  maids,  et  id  genus,  pride  themselves 
on  what  they  please  to  call  sensitising  or  looking 
through  my  head ;  it  strikes  me  that  they  have  done 
it  once  too  often.  The  doctor  committed  himself  to 
the  wrong  side  from  the  first  in  refusing  to  listen  to 
my  protests.  I  said,  and  still  say,  that  a  man  cannot 
employ  filthy  instruments  without  at  the  same  time 
defihng  his  own  hands.  I  had  a  small  discussion  with 
him  this  morning  on  a  question  of  treatment.  There 
is  a  sort  of  navvy  here  who  imagines,  or  flatters  himself, 
that  he  takes  charge  of  this  place,  and  can  do  as  he 
pleases.  If  the  doctor  exercised  due  supervision  he 
would  dismiss  more  than  half  of  the  attendants  here. 
Some  of  them  are  incompetent,  and  some  one  or  two 
can  only  be  set  down  as  dangerous  lunatics." 

Accompanying  this  communication  is  the  following 
criticism  of  the  views  as  stated  by  the  Commissioners 
in  Lunacy  in  their  report : — 

"  The  commissioners  talk  of  intemperance  in  drink. 
My  experience  is  that  the  quantity  of  drink  imbibed 
does  not  count  so  much  as  the  quality.  Where  good 
light  ales  are  brewed  and  sold  as  they  come  from  the 


256  MAD  HUMANITY 

brewers'  hands,  no  bad  results  follow  ;  but  the  licensed 
retailers  will  doctor  their  ales. 

"  I  have  drunk  beers  in  moderation  which  produced 
on  me  the  symptoms  of  morphine  or  absinthe  poison- 
ing, sometimes  I  even  suspected  strychnine.  My  idea 
is  that  the  analyst's  hand  should  be  strengthened,  and 
greater  authority  given  to  the  local  Customs  officers 
for  enforcing  the  sale  of  pure  beer.  Anent  wines  and 
spirits,  speaking  of  this  district,  the  quality  is  most 
inferior  ;  the  brandy  being  highly  coloured,  and  coarse, 
and  the  whiskj^  raw  and  immature.  The  few  samples 
of  wine  which  I  have  examined  have  been  decidedly 
inferior,  crude,  and  immature.  The  French  brands 
lacking  in  flavour  and  body,  and  the  German  such  as 
would  disgrace  an  ordinary  hotel  in  any  part  of  the 
better  known  parts  of  that  country.  Taking  it  all  in 
all,  the  ales  and  lighter  descriptions  of  beers  are  to  be 
preferred,  and  the  wines  and  spirits — unless  the  higher 
class  brands  are  ordered  and  supplied — should  be  care- 
fully avoided. 

"  Occasionally  I  have  found  some  of  the  lighter  ales 
fortified  with  brandy,  but  that  I  think  was  more  of 
the  nature  of  a  practical  joke  than  of  malice  prepense. 
I  am  of  opinion,  all  the  same,  that  the  Commissioners 
would  be  doing  a  great  benefit  to  the  general  welfare 
of  Great  Britain  if  they  accentuated  this  view  of  the 
drink  question,  and  at  the  same  time  made  it  easier 
to  arrest  and  convict  the  sellers  of  adulterated  drinks, 
by  more  rigid  inspection  and  an  easier  access  to  the 
public  analyst's  department  at  Somerset  House." 

In  the  hospital  of  the  Bicetre  there  was  a  patient 
who  was  under  the  impression  that  he  was  guided 
entirely  by  a  power  whom  he  called  his  sovereign. 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  257 

She  exercised  over  him  the  most  absolute  sway ;  not 
only  was  she  the  primary  cause  of  everything  that 
had  occurred  to  him,  but  she  regulated  his  most 
minute  action,  even  to  his  inmost  thoughts.  He  was 
nothing  of  himself,  but  everything  was  his  sovereign. 
When  she  paid  him  a  visit,  which  was  principally 
during  the  night,  he  heard  her  speak,  he  was  conscious 
of  her  presence  in  his  body ;  he  knew  it,  he  said,  by 
certain  sensations,  by  certain  sufferings,  which  he 
experienced,  sometimes  in  one  place,  sometimes  in 
another.  He  had  never  seen  her.  He  had  constantly 
the  word  "  sovereign  "  in  his  mouth  ;  and  his  comrades 
in  the  hospital  nicknamed  him  Sovereign.  Towards 
the  end  of  December,  and  up  to  the  first  week  of 
February,  he  seemed  to  renounce  his  erroneous  con- 
victions, and  he  was  looked  upon  as  cured.  He  was 
the  first  to  laugh  at  the  idea  of  his  sovereign.  He 
acknowledged  that  the  thought  was  foolish,  that  he 
had  been  in  a  dream,  and  wondered  at  his  simplicity 
in  putting  faith  in  it.  He  got  better,  but  he  had  a 
relapse.  In  fact,  any  one  looking  at  him  from  the 
foot  of  the  bed  when  he  was  quiet,  could  see  in  a 
moment  that  a  complete  change  had  come  over  him. 
His  countenance  was  more  animated  than  usual,  his 
eyes  brilliant  and  moist,  the  nose  especially  wore 
that  red  hue  which  is  so  commonly  visible  in  the 
drunkard,  the  pulse  was  in  its  normal  state,  the 
tongue  was  white  and  slightly  furred.  Scarcely  had 
he  been  spoken  to,  when  he  burst  out  with  the 
utmost  volubility,  complaining  of  the  attendants,  of 
his  neighbours,  of  all  the  world.  His  speech  was 
incoherent ;  his  lips  and  a  portion  of  his  face  agitated 
with  convulsive  movements,  the  muscles  scarcely  seem- 

S 


258  MAD  HUMANITY 

ing  to  remain  for  a  moment  tranqnil ;  the  maniacal 
excitement  was  evident.  Nevertheless,  a  slight  re- 
monstrance on  the  part  of  the  doctor,  who  saw  him, 
was  sufficient  to  make  him  quiet,  and  to  render 
him  reserved.  He  listened  and  answered  the  follow- 
ing questions  that  were  put  to  him,  with  great 
composure : — 

"  Oh,  my  poor  friend !  what,  have  you  again 
returned  to  your  former  extravagances  ?  Have  you 
received  a  new  visit  from  your  sovereign  ? " 

"  My  dear  doctor,  these  are  not  extravagances ;  it 
is  very  true  that  I  have  not  perceived  her  presence  a 
long  time ;  but  last  night  she  returned  to  me  whilst  I 
was  asleep,  and  awoke  me.  She  compelled  me  to 
speak — to  say  a  vast  number  of  things,  of  which  I 
understood  nothing ;  she  insisted  on  my  whistling  and 
singing." 

"  All  that  you  say  is  very  absurd.  You  have  had 
a  dream,  that  is  all.  How  can  it  be  that  what  you 
call  your  sovereign  has  compelled  you  to  speak  and 
to  sing  in  spite  of  yourself?  It  is  an  utter  im- 
possibility." 

"  My  dear  doctor,  it  was  by  moving  about  my 
tongue  that  she  obliged  me,  whether  I  would  or  not, 
to  speak." 

"  You  have  forgotten  that  I  made  you  hold  your 
tongue,  that  I  had  even  driven  her  out  of  your  body, 
and  that  I  threatened  to  cut  into  your  side  and  take 
her  out." 

"  I  assure  you,  doctor,  that  the  sovereign  told  me 
that  it  was  all  the  same  to  her,  and  that  this  time  she 
would  not  stir  for  all  that." 

"  Where  is  she  at  this  moment  ?  " 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  259 

"  Why,  doctor,  she  is  in  my  head." 

"  Is  she  speaking  to  you  now  ?  Listen  with 
attention." 

He  said,  with  a  smile,  he  knew  very  well  that 
she  was  in  his  head,  but  she  was  determined  not  to 
speak. 

"  Listen,  now,  again ;  probably  she  may  make  up 
her  mind  to  speak." 

With  another  smile,  "  The  sovereign  has  decided 
not  to  speak." 

A  youth  of  excellent  moral  conduct  and  good 
intellect,  and  of  very  gentle  manners,  had  become 
deranged  while  serving  as  a  subaltern  officer  in  the 
West  Indies.  His  freaks,  however,  were  those  of  a 
mere  schoolboy — riding  a  great  gun  being,  indeed, 
his  favourite  pastime.  Morning  after  morning,  at- 
tended by  the  soldier  who  acted  as  his  keeper,  he 
proceeded  to  a  favourite  battery,  mounted  his  mettled 
steed,  and  went  through  all  the  actions  and  attitudes 
of  a  warrior  bestriding  his  charger  in  full  career — 
greatly  to  his  own  satisfaction,  and  to  the  amusement 
of  others.  At  last,  as  his  recovery  seemed  hopeless, 
a  medical  board  recommended  his  being  sent  to  England, 
and  placed  on  half -pay.  The  day  on  which  the  vessel, 
on  board  which  his  passage  had  been  engaged,  was  to 
sail,  he  was  led  unresistingly  to  the  landing-place,  and 
entered  the  boat  awaiting  him  without  reluctance ; 
but  when  about  half-way  between  the  shore  and  the 
ship,  affected  probably  by  the  motion  of  the  waves, 
he  sprang  to  his  feet — no  precautions  against  violence 
havincp  been  thouoht  needful — he  bit,  struck,  and 
kicked  furiously ;  and  was  only  secured  with  the 
utmost  difficulty,  after  exposing  himself  and  the  sea- 


260  MAD  HUMANITY 

men,  and  others  who  accompanied  him,  not  only  to 
mechanical  injuries,  but  to  the  danger  of  a  watery 
grave,  as  much  skill  was  required  to  keep  the  boat 
trimmed  until  he  was  overpowered.  After  this  sally 
he  became  again  inoffensive,  and  gave  no  further 
trouble. 

Though  there  are  many  recorded  cases  of  various 
monarchs  who  have  become  insane,  I  will  only  select 
one  of  these  instances  to  place  before  my  readers. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  instances  of  insanity 
among  kings  is  that  of  George  III.  of  England.  The 
insanity  of  a  monarch  is  an  intense  study,  and  of 
great  interest  to  the  jurist  and  historian.  The  reign 
of  George  III.  was  one  of  great  importance,  and 
replete  with  events  of  great  moment  in  history. 
This  monarch,  who  was  on  the  throne  for  fifty-nine 
years,  died  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-two.  He 
had  no  less  than  five  distinct  attacks  of  insanity. 
The  first  attack  showed  itself  in  1766,  after  he  had 
been  on  the  throne  for  five  years,  when  he  was  only 
twenty-seven  years  of  age.  From  that  period  until 
1810  he  had  relapses,  amounting  to  five  attacks  in 
all.  He  made,  apparently,  complete  recoveries  from 
all  these  attacks  with  the  exception  of  the  last,  which 
occurred  ten  years  before  he  died.  The  average 
duration  of  these  periodical  attacks  was  about  six 
months.  When  the  first  attack  developed,  his  illness 
was  kept  from  the  outside  world,  and  even  from  the 
members  of  his  family  and  household.  Seven 
physicians  administered  to  his  wants  during  these 
seizures.  Pitt  was  rather  astonished  at  having  re- 
vealed to  himself  some  important  State  secrets  from 
the  king.      His  mental  condition  was  that  of  melan- 


Some  Types  of  Madme>'. 


STRANGE  LUNACY  CASES  261 

cholia,  attended  by  depression  and  much  constitutional 
mischief.  He  was  very  irritable,  and  none  dared  to 
oppose  him  or  to  contradict  him  in  any  way.  He 
did  not,  at  times,  realise  his  own  mental  state,  and 
he  often  would  declare  that  he  was  "as  well  as  he 
had  ever  been  in  his  life."  One  of  his  peculiar 
features  whilst  in  this  state  was  to  get  rid  of  his 
Ministers  and  draw  up  lists  of  other  ones,  when  after 
a  short  time  he  would  become  dissatisfied  w^ith  this 
new  list  and  make  a  fresh  one,  and  so  continue.  A 
specialist  was  placed  in  care  of  him,  and  the  one 
chosen  for  that  object  was  the  Eev.  Dr.  Francis 
Willis,  who  combined  spiritual  with  medica,l  know- 
ledge. Though  when  appointed  to  the  important 
post  of  specialist  to  the  king  he  was  at  the  great  age 
of  seventy  years,  he  fully  retained  his  talents  and 
faculties  to  the  very  utmost,  and  took  up  his  residence 
at  the  palace,  being  always  in  attendance  on  His 
Majesty.  Other  medical  men  were  attached  to  the 
court,  and  no  treatment  was  adopted  until  after  a 
consultation  between  all  had  taken  place.  The 
medicinal  treatment  usually  agreed  to  between  the 
consultants  was  purely  of  a  tonic  and  saline  de- 
scription. At  the  time  to  which  I  allude  mechanical 
restraint  w^as  being  much  u.sed  in  England,  and  the 
king  was  subject  to  this  treatment ;  but,  so  far  as  I 
know  of  his  condition,  there  was  nothing  to  justify  its 
use.  The  king,  after  his  recovery,  however,  did  not  in 
any  way  regard  the  harshness  of  this  sort  of  treat- 
ment, for  one  day,  walking  through  the  grounds  of  the 
palace,  he  said  :  "  It  is  the  best  friend  I  ever  had  in  my 
life  " ;  this  was  an  allusion  made  to  the  strait-waist- 
coat which  had  been   adopted   to  restrain  him.      In 


262  MAD  HUMANITY 

1788,  between  his  second  and  third  attack,  a  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  was  appointed  to  decide  the 
advisability  of  appointing  a  regent,  and  the  following 
questions  were  submitted  to  the  medical  men  in 
charge  of  the  king  : — 

1.  Is  His  Majesty  incapable,  by  reason  of  the 
present  state  of  his  health,  of  coming  to  Parliament 
or  of  attending  to  public  business  ? 

2.  What  hopes  are  there  of  recovery  ?  Is  your 
answer  on  this  question  founded  upon  the  particular 
symptom  of  His  Majesty's  case,  or  your  experience  of 
the  disorder  in  general  ? 

3.  Can  you  form  any  judgment  or  probable  con- 
jecture of  the  time  His  Majesty's  illness  is  likely  to  last? 

4.  Can  you  assign  any  cause  of  his  illness  ? 

5.  Do  you  see  any  signs  of  convalescence  ? 

The  answ^ers  were  not  on  the  whole  satisfactory, 
except  with  regard  to  the  one  relating  to  the  prob- 
ability of  recovery,  which  was  answered  in  the 
affirmative.  The  king  did  recover  from  his  second 
attack  as  predicted  by  his  doctors,  but  only  to  have  a 
series  of  relapses.  And  during  all  this  time  public 
business  was  at  a  standstill.  During  his  later  attacks 
his  memory  became  a  complete  blank,  and  he  exhibited 
a  very  low  degree  of  vitality.  He  fancied  that  he  was 
dead,  and  ordered  a  suit  of  black  "in  memory  of 
George  III.,  for  w^iom  I  know  there  is  general 
mourning."  Towards  the  end  of  1819  he  became 
prostrate  and  gradually  sank,  and  died  29  th  January 
1820.  In  other  countries  but  England  a  mad 
monarch  would  have  been  deposed  long  before  his 
mad  acts  had  been  allowed  to  injure  his  country. 


CHAPTER    X 

UNRECOGNISED    CASES 

There  are  many  cases  at  the  present  day  of  mental 
disorder  which  are  unrecognised ;  in  other  words,  the 
mind  is  disordered  subjectively,  though  objectively 
there  may  be  no  symptoms  present.  The  question  is 
a  difficult  one  but  of  great  importance  to  all  sec- 
tions of  our  community.  It  is  beset  with  intricacies 
and  surrounded  by  dangers.  In  the  hands  of  the 
inexperienced,  the  ignorant,  the  indiscreet,  and  the 
wilfully  designing,  the  facts  that  I  have  to  record, 
and  principles  which  I  purpose  to  enunciate,  might 
be  productive  of  much  mischief;  but,  I  ask,  ought 
any  apprehensions  of  this  kind  to  deter  me  from 
entering  upon  this  important  inquiry  ?  The  subject 
of  latent  and  unrecognised  morbid  mind  is  yet  in  its 
infancy.  It  may  be  said  to  occupy,  at  present,  un- 
trodden and  almost  untouched  ground.  What  a  vast 
field  is  here  presented  to  the  truth  -  seeking  and 
philosophical  observer,  who,  to  a  practical  knowledge 
of  the  world  and  human  character,  adds  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  higher  departments  of  mental  philosophy. 
How  much  of  the  bitterness,  misery,  and  wretchedness 
so  often  witnessed  in  the  bosom  of  families  arises  from 


264  MAD  HUMANITY 

concealed  and  undetected  mental  alienation !  How 
often  do  we  witness  ruin,  beggary,  disgrace,  and  death 
result  from  such  unrecognised  morbid  mental  con- 
ditions !  It  is  the  canker  worm  gnawing  at  the 
vitals,  and  undermining  the  happiness  of  many  a 
domestic  hearth.  Can  nothing  be  done  to  arrest  the 
fearful  progress  of  the  moral  avalanche,  or  the  course 
of  the  rapid  current  that  is  hurling  so  many  to  ruin 
and  destruction  ? 

This  type  of  morbid  mental  disorder  exists  to  a 
frightful  extent  in  real  life.  It  is  unhappily  on  the 
increase,  and  it  therefore  behoves  one  to  fearlessly 
grapple  with  an  evil  which  is  sapping  the  happiness 
of  families,  and  to  exert  the  utmost  ability  to  dis- 
seminate sound  principles  upon  a  matter  so  intimately 
associated  and  so  closely  interwoven  with  the  social 
well-being  of  the  human  race.  These  unrecognised 
morbid  conditions  most  frequently  implicate  the 
affections,  propensities,  appetites,  and  moral  sense. 
In  many  instances  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  between 
the  normal  or  healthy  mental  irregularities  of  thought, 
passion,  appetite,  and  those  deviations  from  natural 
conditions  of  the  intellect,  both  in  its  intellectual  and 
moral  manifestations,  clearly  bringing  those  so  affected 
within  the  legitimate  domain  of  pathology.  Are 
there  any  unfailing  diagnostic  symptoms  by  means  of 
which  we  may  detect  these  pseudo  forms  of  mental 
disorder  with  sufficient  exactness,  precision,  and  dis- 
tinctness to  justify  the  conclusion  that  they  result 
from  a  deviation  from  the  normal  cerebral  condition  ? 
The  affections  of  which  I  speak  are  necessarily  obscure, 
and,  unlike  the  ordinary  cases  of  mental  aberration  of 
eyeryday  occurrence,  they  frequently  manifest  them- 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  265 

selves  ill  either  an  exalted,  depressed,  or  vitiated  state 
of  the  moral  sense.  The  disorder  frequently  assumes 
the  character  of  a  mere  exaggeration  of  some  single 
predominant  passion,  appetite,  or  emotion,  and  so 
often  resembles,  in  its  prominent  features,  the  natural 
and  healthy  actions  of  thought,  either  in  excess  of 
development  or  irregular  in  its  operations,  that  the 
practised  eye  of  the  experienced  physician  can  alone 
safely  pronounce  the  state  to  be  one  of  disease.  I  do 
not  refer  to  mere  ordinary  instances  of  eccentricity,  to 
certain  idiosyncrasies  of  thought  and  feeling,  or  to 
cases  in  which  the  mind  appears  to  be  absorbed  by 
some  one  idea,  which  exercises  an  influence  over  the 
conduct  and  thoughts,  quite  disproportionate  to  its 
intrinsic  value.  Neither  do  I  advert  to  examples  of 
natural  irritability,  violence  or  passion,  coarseness  and 
brutality,  vicious  inclinations,  criminal  propensities, 
excessive  caprice,  or  extravagance  of  conduct,  for  these 
conditions  of  mind  may,  alas !  be  the  natural  and  healthy 
operations  of  the  intellect.  These  strange  phases  of  the 
understanding — these  vagaries  of  the  intellect — these 
singularities,  irregularities,  and  oddities  of  conduct, 
common  to  so  many  who  mix  in  everyday  life,  and 
who  pass  current  in  society,  present  to  the  philo- 
sophical psychologist  many  points  for  grave  contem- 
plation and  even  suspicion ;  but  such  natural  and 
normal,  although  eccentric  states  of  the  intellect,  do 
not  legitimately  come  within  the  province  of  the 
practical  physician,  unless  they  can  be  clearly  demon- 
strated to  be  morbid  results  —  to  be  positive  and 
clearly  established  deviations  from  cerebral  and  mental 
health.  It  has  been  well  observed  that  a  brusque, 
rough  manner,  which  is  natural  to  one  person,  indi- 


266  MAD  HUMANITY 

cates  nothing  but  mental  health  m  him,  but  if  another 
individual,  who  has  always  been  remarkable  for  a 
deferential  deportment  and  habitual  politeness,  lays 
these  qualities  aside,  and,  without  provocation  or  other 
adequate  cause,  assumes  the  unpolished  forwardness  of 
the  former,  we  may  justly  infer  that  his  mind  is  either 
already  deranged  or  on  the  point  of  becoming  so ;  or 
if  a  person  who  has  been  noted  all  his  life  for  prudence, 
steadiness,  regularity,  and  sobriety,  suddenly  becomes, 
without  any  adequate  change  in  his  external  situation, 
rash,  unsettled,  and  dissipated  in  his  habits  or  vice 
versa,  every  one  recognises  at  once  in  these  changes, 
accompanied  as  they  are  by  certain  bodily  symptoms, 
evidences  of  the  presence  of  disease  affecting  the  mind 
through  the  instrumentality  of  its  organs.  It  is  nob 
therefore  the  abstract  feeling  or  act  that  constitutes 
positive  proof  of  the  existence  of  mental  derangement, 
but  a  departure  from,  or  an  exaggeration  of,  the 
natural  and  healthy  character,  temper  and  habits  of 
the  person  so  affected. 

These  forms  of  unrecognised  mental  disorder  are 
not  always  accompanied  by  any  well  -  marked  dis- 
turbance of  the  bodily  health  demanding  medical 
attention,  or  any  obvious  departure  from  a  normal 
state  of  thought  and  conduct  such  as  to  justify  legal 
interference ;  neither  do  these  affections  always  in- 
capacitate the  party  from  engaging  in  the  ordinary 
business  of  life.  There  may  be  no  appreciable  morbid 
alienation  of  affection.  The  wit  continues  to  dazzle, 
and  the  repartee  has  lost  none  of  its  brilliancy.  The 
fancy  retains  its  playfulness,  the  memory  its  power, 
and  the  conversation  its  perfect  coherence  and 
rationality.     The  afflicted  person  mixes,  as  usual,  in 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  267 

society,  sits  at  the  head  of  his  own  table,  entertains 
his  guests,  goes  to  the  Stock  Exchange,  to  his  counting- 
house  or  his  bank,  engages  actively  in  his  professional 
duties,  without  exhibiting  evidence,  very  conclusive  to 
others,  of  his  actual  morbid  condition.  The  mental 
change  may  have  progressed  insidiously  and  stealthily, 
having  slowly  and  almost  imperceptibly  effected  im- 
portant molecular  modifications  in  the  delicate  vesicular 
nervous  neurine  of  the  brain,  ultimately  resulting  in 
some  aberration  of  the  ideas,  or  alteration  of  the 
affections,  propensities,  and  habits. 

The  party  may  be  an  unrecognised  monomaniac, 
and  acting  under   the   terribly  crushing   and   despotic 
infiuence  of  one  predominant  morbid  idea,  he  may  be 
bringing  destruction   upon   his  once   happy  home  and 
family.      His  feelings  may  be  perverted  and  affections 
alienated;    thus  engendering  much  concealed  misery 
within  the  sacred  circle  of  domestic  life.     His  conduct 
may  be  brutal  to  those  who  have  the  strongest  claims 
upon  his  love,  kindness,  and  forbearance,  and  yet  his 
mental  malady  be  undetected.      He  may  recklessly, 
and   in   opposition    to   the    best    counsels    and    most 
pathetic  appeals,  squander   a   fortune,  which  has  been 
accumulated  after  many  years  of  active  industry  and 
anxious  toil.      He  may  become  vicious  and  brutal — a 
tyrant,  a  criminal,  a  drunkard,  a  suicide,  and  a  spend- 
thrift, as  the  result  of  an  undoubtedly  morbid  state  of 
the  brain  and  mind,  and  yet  pass  unobserved  through 
life  as  a  sane,  rational,  and  healthy  man. 

We  witness,  in  actual  practice,  all  the  delicate  shades 
and  gradations  of  such  unrecognised  and  neglected 
mental  alienation.  It  often  occurs  that  whilst  those 
so   affected   are   able  to    perform   with   praiseworthy 


268  MAD  HUMANITY 

propriety  aud  with  scrupulous  prol^ity  and  singular 
exactness,  most  of  the  important  studies  of  life,  they 
manifest  extraordinary  and  unreasonable  antipathies, 
dislikes,  and  suspicions,  against  their  dearest  relations 
and  kindest  friends.  So  cleverly  and  successfully  is 
this  mask  of  sanity  and  mental  health  sometimes 
worn,  so  effectually  is  all  suspicion  disarmed,  that 
mental  disorder  of  a  dangerous  character  has  been 
known  for  years  to  progress  without  exciting  the 
slightest  notion  of  its  presence,  until  some  sad  and 
terrible  catastrophe  has  painfully  awakened  attention  to 
its  existence.  Persons  suffering  from  latent  insanity 
often  affect  singularity  of  dress,  gait,  conversation,  and 
phraseology.  The  most  trifling  circumstances  rouse 
their  excitability,  they  are  martyrs  to  ungovernable 
paroxysms  of  passion,  are  roused  to  a  state  of  de- 
moniacal fury  by  insignificant  causes,  and  occasionally 
lose  all  sense  of  delicacy  of  feeling  and  sentiment, 
refinement  of  manners  and  conversation.  Such  mani- 
festations of  undetected  mental  disorder  are  often  seen 
associated  with  intellectual  and  moral  qualities  of  the 
highest  order.  Neither  rank  nor  station  is  free  from 
these  sad  mental  infirmities.  Occasionally  the  malady 
shows  itself  in  an  overbearing  disposition.  Persons 
so  unhappily  disordered  browbeat  and  bully  those  over 
whom  they  have  the  power  of  exercising  a  little  short- 
lived authority,  and,  forgetting  what  is  due  to  station, 
intelligence,  reputation,  and  character,  they  become 
within  their  circumscribed  sphere  petty  tyrants, 
aping  the  manners  of  an  eastern  despot.  They  are 
impulsive  in  their  thoughts,  are  often  obstinately  and 
pertinaciously  rivetted  to  the  most  absurd  and  out- 
rageous opinions,  are   dogmatic  in   conversation,  are 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  269 

litigious,  exhibit  a  controversial  spirit,  and  oppose 
every  endeavour  to  bring  them  within  the  domain  of 
common  sense  and  correct  principles  of  reasoning. 
Persons,  who  were  distinguished  for  their  sweetness  of 
disposition,  unvarying  urbanity,  strict  regard  for  truth, 
diffidence  of  character,  evenness  of  temper,  and  of  all 
those  self-denying  qualities  which  adorn  and  beautify 
the  human  character,  exhibit,  in  this  type  of  dis- 
ordered intellect,  states  of  morbid  mind  the  very 
reverse  of  those  natural  to  them  w^hen  in  health.  The 
even-tempered  man  becomes  querulous  and  irascible ;  the 
generous  and  open-hearted  becomes  cunning  and  selfish; 
the  timid  man  assumes  an  unnatural  boldness  and 
forwardness.  All  delicacy  and  decency  of  thought  is 
occasionally  banished  from  the  mind,  so  effectually 
does  the  spiritual  principle  in  these  attacks  succumb 
to  the  animal  instincts. 

The  naturally  gentle,  truthful,  retiring,  and  self- 
denying,  become  quarrelsome,  cunning,  and  selfish, 
the  diffident,  bold,  and  the  modest,  obscene.  We 
frequently  observe  these  pseudo-mental  conditions,  in- 
volving only  one  particular  faculty,  or  seizing  hold  of 
one  passion  or  appetite.  Occasionally  it  manifests 
itself  in  a  w^ant  of  veracity,  or  in  a  disposition  to 
exaggerate,  amounting  to  a  positive  disease.  It  may 
show  itself  in  a  disordered  volition,  in  morbid  imita- 
tion, in  an  inordinate  vaulting  ambition,  an  absorbing 
lust  of  praise,  an  insane  desire  for  notoriety,  a  sudden 
paralysis  of  the  memory  or  impairment  of  the  power 
of  attention,  with  an  obliteration  from  the  mind  of  all 
the  events  of  the  past  life.  The  disorder  occasionally 
manifests  itself  in  morbid  views  of  Christianity,  and  is 
often   connected  with  a    profound  anccstliesia  of  the 


270  MAD  HUMANITY 

moral  sense.  Many  of  these  sad  afflictions  are  sympto- 
matic or  unobserved,  and,  consequently,  neglected 
cerebral  conditions,  either  originating  in  the  brain 
itself,  or  produced  by  sympathy  with  morbid  affections 
existing  in  other  tissues,  in  close  organic  relationship 
with  the  great  nervous  centre. 

The  majority  of  these  cases  will  generally  be  found 
associated  with  a  constitutional  predisposition  to  in- 
sanity and  cerebral  disease.  These  morbid  conditions 
are  occasionally  the  sequelae  of  febrile  attacks,  more 
or  less  implicating  the  functions  of  the  brain  and 
nervous  system.  They  often  follow  injuries  to  the  head 
inflicted  in  early  childhood ;  and  modifications  of  the 
malady  are  also,  unhappily,  seen  allied  with  genius ; 
and — as  the  biographies  of  Cowper,  Burns,  Byron, 
Johnson,  Pope,  and  Hay  don  prove — the  best,  the 
exalted,  and  most  highly  gifted  conditions  of  mind  do 
not  escape  unscathed.  In  early  childhood  this  form 
of  mental  disturbance  may  be  detected  in  many  cases. 
To  its  existence  may  often  be  traced  the  motiveless 
crimes  of  the  young,  as  well  as  much  of  the  vmnatural 
caprice,  dulness,  stupidity,  and  wickedness  often 
witnessed  in  early  life.  In  the  majority  of  instances, 
the  patient  is  quite  ignorant  of  his  condition,  and, 
indignantly  repudiates  the  imputation  of  mental  ill- 
health.  In  some  cases,  however,  the  unhappy  sufferer 
is  perfectly  conscious  of  his  lamentable  state,  and, 
feeling  a  necessity  for  cerebral  relief,  eagerly  seeks  the 
advice  and  consolation  of  his  confidential  physician. 
In  this  stage  of  mental  consciousness,  a  painful 
struggle  often  takes  place  in  the  patient's  mind 
relative  to  the  reality  of  his  mental  impressions  or 
suggestions.      The  questions   occasionally  occurring  to 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  271 

the  mind  are  as  follow : — Are  these  ideas  consistent 
with  health  ?  Is  there  any  basis  for  such  thoughts  ? 
Am  I  justified  in  harbouring  feelings  of  this  nature  ? 
Are  they  false  creations  or  notions  of  a  healthy 
character,  arising  out  of  actual  circumstances?  A 
battle  of  this  kind,  with  ideas  clearly  of  a  morbid 
character,  I  have  known  to  continue  for  a  long  period, 
before  the  intellect  has  become  prostrated  or  suc- 
cumbed to  insane  delusion,  or  suicidal  suggestion. 
This  type  of  case  often  comes  under  the  notice  of 
those  engaged  in  the  treatment  of  mental  maladies. 

Hamlet,  when  he  imagined  his  soundness  of  mind 
questioned,  exclaims : — 

"  This  is  not  madness,  bring  me  to  the  test." 

Again,  Shakespeare  makes  Lady  Constance,  when 
accused  of  insanity,  in  consequence  of  her  intense 
manifestations  of  grief,  declare  : — 

"  I  am  not  mad." 

She  then  proceeds  to  describe  to  her  accuser  her 
reasons  for  repudiating  the  imputation  of  insanity : — 

"  I  am  not  mad';  this  hair  I  tear  is  mine  ; 
My  name  is  Constance  ; 
Young  Arthur  is  my  son,  and  he  is  lost. 
I  am  not  mad  ; — I  would  to  Heaven  I  were  ; 
For  then,  'tis  like  I  should  forget  myself. 
0,  if  I  could,  what  grief  shoukl  I  forget  ! " 

Then,  in  the  bitterness  of  wild  despair,  she  begs  the 
cardinal  to  "  preach  some  philosophy  to  make  her 
mad,"  for  she  exclaims  : — 


272  MAD  HUMANITY 

"  Being  not  mad,  but  sensible  of  grief, 
My  reasonable  part  produces  reason  ; 
If  I  were  mad  I  should  forget  my  son. 
Or  madly  tbink  a  babe  in  clouts  were  he." 

Again,  overpowered  by  the  terrible  consciousness 
of  her  sad  condition,  she  thus  repeats  her  declaration 
of  sanity : — 

"  I  am  not  mad  ;  too  well,  too  well  I  feel 
The  different  j^lague  of  each  calamity." 

This  condition  of  mind  is  closely  allied  to  positive 
insanity.  In  this  stage  of  consciousness  the  disorder 
easily  yields  to  medical  treatment. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  direct  attention  to  the 
frightful  amount  of  unrecognised  and  untreated  cases 
of  mental  depression  associated  with  an  irresistible 
suicidal  propensity  which  has  prevailed  within  the 
last  twelve  or  eighteen  months.  The  daily  channels 
of  communication  convey  to  us  this  sad  intelligence 
in  language  that  does  not  admit  of  misconstruction. 
The  melancholy  history  of  one  case  recorded  is  but 
a  faithful  record  of  hundreds  of  others  that  are  occur- 
ring within  the  range  of  our  own  vision.  If  the 
evidence  generally  adduced  before  the  coroner  is  to  be 
credited,  in  nearly  every  case  of  suicide  cerebral 
disorder  has  exhibited  itself,  and  the  mind  has  been 
clearly  and  palpably  deranged.  In  many  cases,  the 
mental  alienation  has  clearly  existed  for  weeks,  and 
occasionally  for  months,  without  giving  rise  to  the 
suspicion  of  the  presence  of  any  dangerous  degree  of 
brain  disturbance  likely  to  lead  to  an  overt  act  of 
suicide.  There  are  few  morbid  mental  conditions  so 
fatal   in    tlieir   results    as    these    apparently   trifling, 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  273 

evanescent,  and  occasionally  fugitive  attacks  of 
mental  depression.  They  almost  invariably,  in 
certain  temperaments,  are  associated  with  suicidal 
impulse.  These  slight  ruffles  upon  the  surface,  these 
attacks  of  mental  despondency,  these  paroxysms  of 
morbid  ennui,  accompanied  as  they  generally  are  with 
intense  weariness  of  life,  a  desire  for  seclusion,  love  of 
solitude,  and  a  want  of  interest  in  the  ordinary  affairs 
of  life,  are  fraught  with  fatal  mischief.  How  much 
of  this  character  of  disordered  mind  not  only  escapes 
observation,  but  is  subjected  to  no  kind  of  medical 
and  moral  treatment.  Occasionally  it  may  happen 
(but  how  rare  is  the  occurrence)  that  the  unhappy 
suicide  may  have  exhibited  no  appreciable  symptoms 
of  mental  derangement ;  but  even  in  these  cases 
we  should  be  cautious  in  concluding  that  sanity 
existed  at  the  time  of  the  suicide.  It  often  happens 
that  a  person  is  impelled  to  self-destruction  by  the 
overpowering  and  crushing  influence  of  some  latent 
and  concealed  delusion  that  has  for  weeks,  and  perhaps 
for  months,  been  sitting  like  an  incubus  upon  the 
imagination.  Patients  often  confess  that  they  have 
been  under  the  influence  of  monomaniacal  ideas  and 
concealed  hallucinations  for  months  without  their 
existence  being  suspected  even  by  their  most  intimate 
associates.  "  For  six  months,"  writes  a  patient,  "  I 
have  never  had  the  idea  of  suicide,  night  or  day,  out 
of  my  mind.  Wherever  I  go,  an  unseen  demon 
pursues  me,  impelling  me  to  self-destruction.  My 
wife,  my  friends,  my  children,  observe  my  listlessness 
and  my  despondency,  but  they  know  nothing  of  the 
worm  that  is  gnawing  within."  Is  this  not  a  type  of 
case  more  generally  prevalent  than  we  imagine  ?     May 

T 


274  MAD  HUMANITY 

we  not  say  of  this  unhappy  man,  with  a  mind 
tortured  and  driven  to  despair  by  a  terrible,  over- 
powering, and  concealed  delusion  urging  him  on  to 
suicide,  as  the  only  escape  and  relief  from  the  acute- 
ness  of  his  misery  : — 

"  He  hears  a  voice  ive  cannot  hear, 
Which  says,  he  must  not  stay, 
He  sees  a  hand  we  cannot  see, 
Which  beckons  him  away." 

I  will  now  give  a  few  illustrations  of  this  variety  of 
unrecognised  mental  disorder. 

The  form  of  insanity  exhibiting  itself  exclusively 
in  acts  of  cruelty  and  brutality  may  exist  unassociated 
with  delusion.  There  is  much  of  this  latent  and  un- 
detected alienation  of  mind  in  real  life,  producing 
within  the  sacred  precincts  of  domestic  life  great 
irregularities  of  conduct,  and  a  fearful  amount  of 
domestic  misery.  It  often  co-exists  with  great  talents 
and  high  attainments,  and  is  compatible  with  the 
exercise  of  active  philanthropy  and  benevolence.  The 
ordinary  actions  or  conversation  of  those  so  affected, 
in  many  cases,  would  not  convey  to  a  stranger  an  idea 
of  the  existence  of  such  a  sad  state  of  the  intellect. 
Howard,  the  celebrated  philanthropist,  affords  an 
unhappy  illustration  of  this  type  of  disorder.  He  is 
represented  to  have  been  a  tyrant  in  his  own  house. 
His  cruel  treatment  caused  the  death  of  his  wife.  He 
was  in  the  habit  for  many  years  after  her  death  of 
doing  penance  before  her  picture.  He  had  an  only 
Bon,  whom,  for  the  slightest  offence,  he  punished  with 
terrible  severity.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  making  this 
son  stand   for   hours   in   a  prescribed  grotto  in   the 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  275 

garden.  The  son  became  a  lunatic  as  the  result  of 
this  brutal  treatment.  Several  similar  cases  have  been 
brought  under  my  observation.  In  one  instance, 
temporary  confinement  was  resorted  to,  but  without 
positive  advantage.  The  paroxysms  of  ungovernable 
brutality  returned  immediately  after  the  patient's 
return  home. 

A  boy,  fourteen  years  of  age,  clever,  but  of  sullen 
and  morose  disposition,  committed  suicide  by  hanging 
himself  in  an  arbour  in  his  master's  bowling-green. 
The  mind  of  the  deceased  was  peculiarly  formed,  his 
conduct  often  evincing  a  predisposition  to  cruelty. 
He  had  been  frequently  known  to  hang  up  mice  and 
other  animals  for  the  purpose  of  enjoying  the  pain 
which  they  appeared  to  suffer  whilst  in  the  agonies  of 
death.  He  would  often  call  boys  to  witness  these 
sports,  exclaiming,  "  Here's  a  lark ;  he  is  just  having 
his  last  kick."  He  had  often  been  known  to  catch 
flies  and  throw  them  into  the  fire,  that  he  might 
observe  them  whilst  burning.  He  had  also  been  ob- 
served, whilst  passing  along  the  street,  to  pull  the 
ears  of  the  children,  lifting  them  off  the  ground  by 
their  ears  ;  and  when  they  cried  out  with  pain,  he  would 
burst  out  into  a  fiendish  paroxysm  of  delight  at  their 
sufferings.  About  four  years  previously,  when  only 
ten  years  of  age,  he  attempted  to  strangle  himself,  in 
consequence  of  his  mother  having  chastised  him.  He 
locked  himself  up  in  a  room,  and,  when  discovered, 
life  was  nearly  extinct. 

A  boy,  in  early  life,  was  struck  violently  upon  the 
head  when  at  school  by  a  brutal  fellow  employed  as  usher. 
He  was  partially  stunned,  but  recovered  from  the  effects 
of  the  injury.      When  of  sufficiently  advanced  age,  he 


276  MAD  HUMANITY 

joined  his  father  in  business.  He  became  subject  to 
attacks  of  headache,  particularly  if  exposed  to  much 
anxiety.  For  some  months  he  continued  sullen,  was 
often  absent  from  the  counting-house,  became  the  asso- 
ciate of  the  lowest  class  of  society,  and  w^as  detected 
in  abstracting  several  large  sums  of  money  from  his 
father's  private  desk.  In  this  condition  he  remained 
for  seven  or  eight  months,  no  one  suspecting  the 
morbid  state  of  his  intellect.  One  morning,  whilst 
sitting  in  the  counting-house,  he  suddenly  seized  one 
of  the  clerks  by  the  throat  and  attempted  to  throttle 
him.  A  severe  scuffle  ensued.  Upon  separating  the 
combatants,  it  was  discovered  that  his  mind  had 
become  affected.  He  became  suddenly,  as  it  were, 
demoniacally  possessed.  He  poured  forth  a  volley  of 
filthy  oaths,  and  an  amount  of  obscenity  appalling  to 
those  around  him.  There  appeared  no  impairment 
of  the  reasoning  powers,  of  the  memory,  or  reflective 
fticulties.  He  suddenly  lost  all  perception  of  truth, 
decency,  and  propriety. 

A  young  lady,  at  the  age  of  eleven,  suffered  from 
brain  symptoms.  After  a  sudden  disappearance  of 
scarlet  fever  she  had  persistent  headaches,  which  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  very  much  increased  in  severity, 
with  an  intolerance  for  light,  sound,  and  movement. 
She  recovered  for  a  year,  but  at  the  end  of  that  time 
all  the  symptoms  returned  with  aggravation ;  she 
became  sleepless,  and  had  jerky  movements  of  the 
limbs,  and  declined  all  food.  These  symptoms  con- 
tinued incessantly  for  a  month,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  time  she  fell  into  a  sound  sleep  which  lasted 
one  night,  but  in  the  morning  appeared  quite  well. 

A  short  time  afterwards  she  began  to  suffer  from 


Hysterical  Mania. 
Many  obscure  cases  are  associated  with  hysterical  attacks  ;  these  are  accompanied  by 
violence  of  an  excessive  kind.     Insanity  associated  with  this  form  of  hysteria  is, 
as  a  rule,  quite  incurable,  and  soon  becomes  contirmed  and  chronic  in  its  nature. 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  277 

toothache,  which  persisted  despite  all  the  skill  of  the 
dentist ;  and  to  this  soon  was  added  again  intense 
headache,  which  compelled  her  to  keep  her  bed.  The 
headache  now  became  more  severe  than  ever,  and  was 
accompanied  with  tremors  of  the  muscles  of  the  neck, 
by  which  the  head  was  constantly  jerked  backwards ; 
violent  spasmodic  flexion  of  the  legs  and  thighs  also 
took  place.  She  complained  constantly  of  the  in- 
tensity of  the  pain  in  the  head.  She  slept  only  for 
about  an  hour  towards  morning.  Food  and  beverage 
were  obstinately  refused.  The  patient  was  becoming 
emaciated,  but  the  intellectual  faculties  remained 
unimpaired.  She  desired  to  be  kept  in  constant 
darkness,  and  exclaimed  constantly,  "  Hold  my  head  !  " 
Medicine  only  aggravated  the  symptoms.  This  state 
continued  for  a  month,  the  symptoms  being  rather 
increased  in  severity,  when  one  night  she  fell  asleep, 
and,  as  before,  woke  on  the  following  morning  per- 
fectly well. 

This  restoration  to  health  lasted  only  three  weeks. 
The  symptoms  again  reappeared,  with  the  addition  of 
more  violent  convulsive  movements.  The  limbs  were 
thrown  into  a  succession  of  most  rapid  movements. 
She  would  strike  the  bed  with  her  heels  ten,  twenty, 
or  fifty  times,  and  then  sink  exhausted,  to  repeat  the 
same  movements  after  an  interval  of  a  few  minutes. 
It  was  utterly  impossible  to  restrain  these  movements. 
Tetanic  rigidity  of  the  arms,  lasting  four  weeks, 
followed  the  immersion  of  the  hands  in  warm  water  ; 
any  attempt  to  bend  them  caused  shrieks  of  agony. 
Again  these  symptoms  all  suddenly  disappeared  after 
a  night's  sleep. 

In  about  three  weeks  another   attack,  similar  to 


278  MAD  HUMANITY 

the  previous  one,  occurred,  with  the  exception  that 
suddenly  the  patient,  lying  on  her  side,  began  to  beat 
the  pillow  with  her  head,  as  many  as  twenty  to  fifty 
blows  at  each  paroxysm ;  at  the  last  and  strongest 
blow  she  would  sink  down  exclaiming,  "  Oh,  my  head  ! 
hold  my  head ! "  These  paroxysms  were  repeated 
every  five  minutes  without  interruption  during  a 
period  of  three  weeks,  except  when  sleeping  for  an 
hour,  which  was  rare.  At  the  end  of  three  weeks  a 
more  violent  paroxysm  occurred ;  she  beat  her  head 
on  the  pillow  a  hundred  times,  and  then  suddenly  fell 
asleep  for  nearly  twenty-four  hours,  awakening  in  a  per- 
fectly normal  condition.  She  continued  quite  well  for 
some  time,  but  three  months  afterwards,  after  having 
attended  a  religious  ceremony,  which  appeared  at  first 
to  have  exercised  a  most  beneficial  effect  over  certain 
premonitory  symptoms  which  had  again  become 
evinced  in  her,  she  fell  into  a  state  of  languor  and 
suffering  as  before.  At  this  time  electricity  was  tried, 
but  without  any  benefit.  In  a  few  weeks  she  became 
much  worse,  and  laid  always  upon  one  side,  being 
buried  in  the  pillow,  declining  to  see  the  light,  or  to  take 
any  kind  of  nourishment.  She  complained  of  head- 
ache and  toothache ;  there  were  periodical  twitchings 
and  starting  of  the  limbs  like  electric  shocks ;  she 
continued  in  this  condition  for  four  months.  One 
day  she  suddenly  straightened  herself  in  her  bed ; 
previous  to  that  her  legs  had  been  fixed  on  her  thighs. 
She  jumped  out  of  bed,  rushed  about  the  room  for  a 
few  minutes,  then  jumped  in  bed  and  out  again  until 
she  got  exhausted ;  she  then  ran  round  the  room, 
stopping  at  one  corner  where  she  danced  many  times 
on  her  heels.     Her  eyes  were  fixed,  haggard,  and  dull, 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  279 

and  if  she  saw  any  one  in  the  room  she  would  avoid 
the  person,  and  shriek  that  a  wild  beast  was  in 
pursuit  of  her.  At  last  she  would  fall  exhausted 
into  the  arms  of  her  parents,  exclaiming,  "  Oh,  my 
head  !  hold  my  head  ! "  This  irresistible  impulse  to 
rush  about  would  recur  three  or  four  times  in  the  year, 
and  every  attempt  at  restraining  her  only  produced 
convulsions  and  agonising  shrieks.  On  one  occasion, 
after  a  paroxysm  longer  and  more  severe  than  usual, 
the  nervous  symptoms  assumed  another  form.  The 
patient  would  kneel  by  her  bedside,  and  bend  her 
head  from  side  to  side  like  the  oscillations  of  a 
pendulimi ;  then,  after  a  few  minutes,  resume  her  bed, 
exclaiming,  "  Oh,  my  head  !  "  Immediately  after- 
wards, rapid  successive  cracking  of  the  joints  of  the 
fingers  would  be  heard,  resembling  slight  electrical 
discharges  ;  they  were  excited  by  movements  of  flexion 
and  circumduction,  which  she  unceasingly  performed. 
These  were  occasionally  interrupted  by  a  deep  sigh 
and  a  few  minutes'  rest.  She  continued  in  this  state 
for  several  weeks,  when  these  symptoms  unexpectedly 
subsided,  to  give  place  to  other  phenomena.  The 
patient,  lying  on  her  back,  would  suddenly  rise  into 
the  sitting  posture,  then  forcibly  throw  herself  back 
on  her  pillow.  She  repeated  this  movement  thirty  or 
forty,  or  even  a  hundred  times  in  succession.  It  was 
necessary  that  these  movements  should  be  aided  by 
some  person,  otherwise  a  tetanic  rigidity  of  the  whole 
trunk  ensued,  with  piercing  cries,  which  continued 
until  the  former  movements  were  resumed.  In 
the  brief  intervals  which  occurred,  the  cracking 
noises  before  mentioned  were  repeated.  This  state 
also    lasted     for     several     weeks,    and    then    passed 


280  MAD  HUMANITY 

off  in   a   greatly   augmented   paroxysm,  followed  by 
sleep. 

The  general  health  improved,  some  face-ache  which 
remained  was  relieved  by  the  extraction  of  several 
carious  teeth,  after  which  the  patient  rapidly,  and 
apparently  completely,  recovered. 

In  about  six  months'  time,  her  parents  took  her 
from  home  for  the  benefit  of  change  of  air  and  scene. 
Soon  afterwards,  another  attack  occurring,  she  was 
placed  under  medical  care,  and  treated  for  congestion 
of  the  brain.  The  paroxysms  now  acquired  such  in- 
tensity that  she  died,  with  acute  fever,  laryngitis,  and 
ophthalmia,  superadded  to  the  other  symptoms  which 
had  continued  during  seventeen  months. 

The  sudden  appearance  of  insanity  in  children  is 
very  rare  under  the  age  of  twelve.  The  unsoundness 
of  mind  here  observable  is  generally  idiocy  associated 
with  violence  and  mischief  These  cases  may  be  found 
in  asylums  at  any  age.  I  have  the  records  of  a  girl, 
six  years  of  age,  who  was  admitted  into  one  of  our 
large  lunatic  hospitals  suffering  from  an  attack  of 
mania  of  ten  weeks'  duration ;  she  had  been  a  bright, 
intelligent  cliild,  and  had  never  given  her  parents  any 
cause  for  anxiety,  or  any  anticipation  that  her  in- 
tellect was  affected  ;  there  was  no  hereditary  tendency 
or  epilepsy  in  the  family.  Her  present  illness  com- 
menced with  an  attack  of  inflammation  of  the  brain, 
preceded  by  a  fit  of  convulsions.  When  first  taken 
ill  she  was  sent  to  a  general  hospital ;  the  following 
is  the  report  made  on  admission : — "  Attack  with 
convulsions.  Had  a  similar  attack  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  months  when  teething,  and  has  twice  been 
similarly  seized.      Appeared  in  very  good  health  previ- 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  281 

ously  to  the  present  illness,  is  now  wholly  nnconscious, 
and  is,  in  fact,  in  a  state  of  coma."  She  was  removed 
from  there  to  the  lunatic  hospital,  the  acute  symptoms 
of  inflammation  having  subsided,  and,  when  admitted, 
her  conduct  was  violent  and  mischievous,  striking 
those  about  her,  tearing  her  clothes,  and  destroying 
everything  within  her  reach.  She  was  generally  in- 
coherent in  her  speech — repeating  any  words  she  might 
hear  in  a  monotonous  voice,  and  without  appearing 
to  understand  them,  such  as  "  Poor  thing,  poor  thing  !  " 
Occasionally,  however,  by  strongly  arresting  her  at- 
tention, a  correct  reply  could  be  obtained  from  her. 
The  expression  of  her  countenance  was  sharp  and 
animated ;  her  general  health  was  good,  and  she  ate 
and  slept  well.  Soon  afterwards,  a  considerable  im- 
provement took  place  in  her  general  behaviour,  and 
she  began  to  pay  attention  to  the  directions  of  one  of 
the  convalescent  patients,  who  took  charge  of  her, 
and  would  say,  "  Thank  you,"  on  receiving  any  little 
present,  and  make  a  curtsy.  She  also  discontinued 
many  of  her  mischievous  tricks ;  but  still  remained 
decidedly  insane.  She  could  not  be  induced  to  employ 
herself  in  any  way,  and  was  subject  to  violent  and 
unaccountable  outbursts  of  passion,  in  which  she  tore 
her  clothes,  and  bit  and  scratched  all  who  attempted 
to  restrain  her. 

After  she  had  been  about  six  months  in  the 
hospital  she  became  much  more  docile,  and  began  to 
employ  herself  in  sewing  and  other  occupations. 
From  this  time  a  marked  improvement  gradually  took 
place  in  her  manner  and  conduct,  until  she  was  re- 
ported as  well,  after  having  been  about  twenty  months 
under  treatment.      She  was,  however,  allowed  to  re- 


282  MAD  HUMANITY 

main  in  the  hospital  for  about  six  months  longer,  until 
she  could  be  transferred  to  the  care  of  her  friends, 
who  were  all  abroad. 

A  clergyman,  about  thirty  years  of  age,  a  man  of 
learning  and  acquirements,  who,  at  the  termination  of 
a  severe  illness,  was  found  to  have  lost  the  recollection 
of  everything,  even  the  names  of  the  most  common 
objects.  His  health  being  restored,  he  began  to 
acquire  knowledge  just  as  a  child  does.  After  learn- 
ing the  names  of  objects,  he  was  taught  to  read,  and 
after  this,  began  to  learn  the  Latin  language.  He 
had  made  considerable  progress  when,  one  day  in 
reading  his  lesson  with  his  brother,  who  was  his 
teacher,  he  suddenly  stopped,  and  put  his  hand  to  his 
head.  Being  asked  why  he  did  so,  he  replied,  "  I  feel 
a  peculiar  sensation  in  my  head ;  and  now  it  appears 
to  me  that  I  knew  all  this  before."  From  that  time 
he  rapidly  recovered  his  faculties. 

A  state  of  the  mental  faculties  somewhat  analogous 
occasionally  occurs  in  diseases  of  simple  exhaustion. 
Many  years  ago  a  physician  attended  a  lady  who,  from  a 
severe  and  neglected  complaint,  was  reduced  to  a  state  of 
great  weakness,  with  remarkable  failure  of  her  memory. 
She  had  lost  the  recollection  of  a  particular  period,  of 
about  ten  or  twelve  years.  She  had  formerly  lived  in 
another  city,  and  the  time  of  which  she  had  lost  the 
recollection  of  was  that  during  which  she  had  lived 
in  Edinburgh.  Her  ideas  were  consistent  with  each 
other,  but  they  referred  to  things  as  they  were  before 
her  removal.  She  recovered  her  health  after  a  con- 
siderable time,  but  remained  in  a  state  of  imbecility 
resembling  the  dotage  of  old  age. 

I  propose  to  give  a  few  cases,  from  a  large  number 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  283 

of  which  I  have  records,  of  suicide  which  have  occurred 
from  obscure  and  consequently  neglected  brain  disease. 

A  colonel,  aged  fifty-five  years,  of  the  East  India 
Company's  service,  committed  suicide  by  cutting  his  left 
arm  with  a  razor.  One  morning  deceased  rang  the 
bell,  and  on  the  housemaid  answering  it,  he  requested 
her  to  take  a  note  to  a  brother  officer.  She  returned 
in  about  twenty  minutes,  and  asked  where  the  colonel 
was.  She  was  told  he  was  in  the  parlour.  On  going 
there  she  could  not  find  him ;  she  then  went  to  the 
back  drawing-room,  and  knocked  at  the  door,  but 
received  no  answer.  The  officer  to  whom  the  note 
had  been  sent  arrived,  and,  havinc?  made  known  her 
suspicions  to  him,  he  had  a  ladder  brought  and 
entered  at  the  window.  He  opened  the  door,  and, 
upon  entering  the  room,  she  found  her  master  sitting 
in  his  chair  covered  with  blood.  Two  pistols  were  on 
the  floor,  and  a  razor  covered  with  blood  on  the  chair 
at  his  side.  His  left  arm  was  cut,  and  he  seemed 
quite  dead.  The  deceased  had  been  very  low^-spirited 
for  two  or  three  days,  but  his  condition  was  not  recog- 
nised, and  he  had  written  a  letter  the  day  before  his 
death  to  a  friend,  in  which  he  said,  "  I  don't  think  I 
shall  ever  know  happiness  again." 

A  very  respectable  tradesman,  forty  years  of  age, 
committed  suicide  by  shooting  himself  through  the 
head.  His  two  sons,  his  only  children,  had  emigrated 
to  America.  From  the  period  of  their  departure  his 
mind  became  very  depressed,  so  much  so  as  to  excite 
the  apprehension  of  his  friends.  One  morning  he 
arose  at  his  usual  hour  and  went  about  his  business, 
giving  directions  to  his  workmen.  Between  nine  and 
ten  o'clock,  not  having  come  to  his  breakfast,  search 


284  MAD  HUMANITY 

was  made  for  him,  when  it  w^as  discovered  that  one  of 
the  upper  workshops  was  fastened,  and,  being  forced 
open,  his  body  was  found  lying  upon  the  floor  quite 
dead,  and  the  gun  lying  with  the  barrel  on  a  vice,  and 
some  string  fastened  to  the  left  hand  of  the  deceased. 
A  steward,  forty-one  years  of  age,  of  a  steam-packet, 
destroyed  himself  under  the  following  circumstances. 
The  deceased  had  been  in  the  service  for  ten  years,  and 
returned  home  from  his  voyage  in  a  very  depressed  and 
melancholy  state,  but  appeared  to  recover  towards  night. 
The  following  morning  the  deceased  showed  no  inclina- 
tion to  get  up,  but  his  wife  urged  him  to  do  so,  and 
to  occupy  himself  with  his  duties  on  board,  by  which 
means  she  thought  he  might  recover  from  his  depres- 
sion of  mind.  He  told  her,  in  a  very  melancholy 
tone,  that  he  could  not  do  so,  and  gave  her  directions 
to  forward  some  things  which  had  been  prepared  for 
a  passenger's  use  by  one  of  the  neighbours,  with  a 
message  to  the  captain  that  he  had  become  insane. 
Finding  all  her  persuasion  useless,  she  did  as  she  was 
directed ;  but  had  scarcely  entered  the  sitting-room, 
when  she  was  horrified  at  seeing  her  husband  come 
out  of  the  bedroom  with  a  clasp-knife  in  his  hand, 
and  the  blood  flowing  profusely  from  his  throat,  which 
was  cut  across  to  a  depth  of  several  inches ;  and,  after 
articulating  with  difiiculty,  "Well,  old  girl,  I  have 
done  it  perfectly  now,"  he  staggered  forw\ard  a  few 
feet,  and  fell  upon  the  sofa.  After  lingering  a  few 
hours,  during  which  time  he  was  speechless,  he 
expired.  He  had  always  treated  his  wife  and  his 
two  children  with  the  greatest  affection ;  but  he 
had  for  a  long  time  past  so  repeatedly  expressed  his 
intention  to  destro}"  liimself,  and  exhibited  such  con- 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  285 

firmed  melancholy  and  thoughtfulness,  frequently 
sitting  for  hours  in  fits  of  abstraction,  without 
uttering  a  word,  that  she  had  been  obliged  upon 
several  occasions  to  walk  about  the  streets  all  night 
for  fear  that  he  might  murder  her.  It  appears  that 
his  mother,  about  two  years  previously,  had  unex- 
pectedly destroyed  herself  in  a  shocking  manner.  This 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  mind  of  the  deceased, 
and  induced  a  morbid  feeling,  which  caused  him  to 
think  that  tw^o  other  persons  in  the  company's  service 
were  endeavouring  to  procure  his  discharge  for  their 
own  advantage.  There  was  no  foundation  for  this 
impression. 

A  man  had  worked  at  his  trade  as  a  weaver  nearly 
all  his  life,  but  had  been  out  of  w^ork  recently.  He 
had  until  lately  enjoyed  very  good  health,  and  was 
not  attended  by  any  medical  man.  One  morning  he 
went  out  about  nine  o'clock,  without  taking  his  break- 
fast or  speaking  to  his  wife,  which  was  very  unusual. 
He  came  in  just  before  twelve,  and  his  wife  asked  him 
where  he  had  been.  He  repHed,  "  I  have  been  wander- 
ing about,  but  have  not  been  into  anybody's  house." 
He  complained  of  being  cold  and  of  his  head  aching, 
and  said  he  was  afraid  he  should  lose  his  senses. 
They  then  had  some  dinner,  and  he  still  complained 
of  his  head.  At  a  little  before  four  o'clock  they  took 
tea ;  he  read  a  little,  but  again  said  his  head  was  bad. 
They  went  to  bed  about  nine  o'clock ;  he  was  very 
restless  during  the  night,  got  up  several  times,  and 
complained  of  a  pain  in  his  head.  His  wife  got  up 
just  after  seven  o'clock,  leaving  him  in  bed,  and  went 
downstairs  to  prepare  the  breakfast.  She  took  him 
up  a  cup  of  tea  and  some  toast,  and  observed  that  his 


286  MAD  HUMANITY 

hand  trembled  very  much.  She  left  him  in  bed  and 
went  out  about  nine  o'clock  to  pay  the  rent.  She  said 
to  her  husband  before  she  went  out  that  she  would 
lock  the  door,  and  he  was  to  lie  until  she  returned. 
He  said,  "  Ah,  do."  She  then  went  away,  and  returned 
just  before  ten  o'clock,  unlocked  the  door,  and  went 
upstairs.  She  spoke  to  him,  but  received  no  answer. 
She  looked  up,  and  saw  he  was  hanging  to  the  bed- 
stead by  a  little  bit  of  cord.  She  took  a  knife  out  of 
her  pocket,  cut  the  cord,  and  he  fell  on  the  floor. 
The  wife  then  went  downstairs,  and  ran  over  the  way 
to  one  of  the  neighbours  and  gave  the  alarm,  and  on 
her  return  found  he  was  dead.  He  was  a  good  man, 
and  a  good  husband,  and  they  had  no  previous  quarrel. 
He  had  been  in  this  low  desponding  way  for  eight  or 
nine  months,  but  worse  lately.  He  used  to  say,  when 
the  Orach  was  lost  his  family  would  starve.  He 
had  often  expressed  himself  to  the  effect  that  he 
should  go  out  of  his  mind ;  but  he  would  not  allow 
his  wife  to  go  for  any  medical  man,  as  he  said  it  was 
his  mind. 

An  old  soldier  had  been  remarkable  for  his  kind 
and  happy  disposition.  Three  weeks  previous  to  his 
death  his  niece  observed  that  he  was  unusually  de- 
pressed in  spirits,  which  so  increased,  that  a  surgeon 
was  summoned  to  attend  him.  He  found  him  suffer- 
ing from  a  flow  of  blood  to  the  head.  A  few  mornings 
afterwards  he  rose  about  seven  o'clock,  and  went  out 
of  the  house,  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  he  was 
found  in  the  hay-loft,  his  head  being  held  by  a  cord 
tied  to  a  beam  five  feet  from  the  ground,  and  his 
body  in  a  reclining  posture.  Death  had  not,  however, 
resulted  from  hanging  ;  deceased's  hands  were  bloody  ; 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  287 

and  it  would  seem  that,  finding  his  attempts  at  self- 
destruction  in  that  way  were  not  effectual,  he  inflicted 
so  deep  a  wound  in  the  throat  with  some  sharp  in- 
strument as  to  sever  the  windpipe,  and  all  the  large 
blood-vessels  of  the  throat.  •  The  servant  girl,  to 
whom  he  spoke  on  the  way  out,  seems  to  have  had 
no  suspicion  of  his  intention. 

It  is  often  a  difficult  thing  to  draw  a  true  line 
of  demarcation  between  moral  insanity  and  crime. 
Eevenge,  especially  long -meditated  revenge,  is  con- 
fessedly most  sinful,  and  less  excusable  than  hasty 
resentment.  But  if,  under  great  provocation,  there 
be  apparent  apathy,  let  the  friends  of  the  offender  and 
the  offended  beware ;  for,  granting  that  the  injured 
party  is  first  stunned,  and  incapable  of  feeling  resent- 
ment at  the  moment,  long  afterwards  violent  reaction 
may  take  place.  The  passionate  man  is  dangerous 
while  his  passion  lasts,  but  seldom  longer, — as  the 
general  rule  is,  that  all  violent  emotions  are  speedily 
exhausted.  There  is  great  meaning  in  Lord  Byron's 
words : — 

"  Cold  as  cherished  hate." 

I  propose  to  give  a  few  cases  where  impulse  has 
formed  a  prominent  feature. 

A  very  steady,  exemplary  young  man  became 
attached  to  an  equally  well-conducted  girl.  He  was 
in  the  army,  in  a  corps  ordered  on  foreign  service,  but 
the  colonel  commanding  would  not  allow  the  women 
to  accompany  their  husbands.  The  attachment,  how- 
ever, continued ;  and,  some  time  after,  the  poor  girl 
walked  upwards  of  twenty  miles,  under  a  burning  sun, 
to  implore  the  colonel's  consent  to  the  union.     The 


288  MAD  HUMANITY 

strict,  calculating  soldier  was,  however,  inexorable,  and 
the  lovers  were  compelled  to  take  a  sad  and  hopeless 
farewell.  Shortly  afterwards  the  girl  threw  herself 
into  the  river,  and  although  prompt  attendance  was 
at  hand  and  every  means  used  for  resuscitation,  all 
efforts  were  of  no  avail.  The  man  to  whom  she  was 
engaged  manifested  no  emotion,  seemed  rather  to 
evince  a  revolting  indifference ;  he  insisted  on  con- 
tinuing his  duties  as  mess  waiter,  and  assisted,  subse- 
quently, at  a  supper  party  given  by  the  officers  the 
same  evening.  Early  next  morning  he  went  out  of 
the  barracks,  passing  the  sentry  without  exciting  any 
suspicion ;  he  was  ere  long  brought  back,  apparently 
drowned,  by  the  same  man  who  had  seen  the  girl  take 
her  fatal  plunge.  His  body  was  placed  in  the  same 
room  where  she  was,  but  by  dint  of  efforts  he  was 
restored  to  life,  and  placed  carefully  under  supervision 
in  one  of  the  wards.  He  persisted  in  his  determina- 
tion to  destroy  himself,  but  he  ultimately,  by  careful 
treatment  and  super\dsion,  made  a  complete  recovery. 
A  young  lady  of  great  personal  attractions,  with  a 
highly -cultivated  intellect,  refined  taste,  and  of  a 
devotional  character,  aged  about  twenty-three,  in  easy 
circumstances,  and  residing  with  a  very  sober-minded 
elderly  unmarried  sister,  in  a  manufacturing  town  in 
the  North  of  England,  had  occasionally  shown  slight 
symptoms  of  mental  derangement,  but  was  at  all 
times  so  gentle  and  docile,  that  when  her  thoughts 
wandered  a  little  she  was  merely  kept  within  doors 
for  a  few  days  until  the  attack  passed  off,  her  state 
being  carefully  concealed  from  all  but  her  nearest 
relations.  She  left  home  one  morning,  apparently 
quite  well,  to  collect  for  a  religious  society;  but  her 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  289 

manuer  appeared  flighty  at  some  houses  where  she 
called  on  this  errand.  After  completing  her  rounds 
she  was  seen  to  leave  the  town,  as  if  for  a  country 
walk — alas !  to  be  brought  back,  ere  long,  a  corpse. 

A  French  Protestant,  of  middle  age,  unexceptional 
morals,  and  professing  a  steadfast  belief  in  religion, 
a  teacher  of  his  native  language,  and  a  portrait  and 
miniature  painter,  had  a  severe  bilious  fever,  preceded 
by  obstinate  congestion  of  the  liver.  It  may  be  well 
to  observe  here  that,  long  before  his  indisposition  was 
manifested,  he  had  often  been  heard  groaning  in  his 
bedroom  at  night,  although  exhibiting  all  the  hilarity 
of  his  nation  by  day.  Some  years  before,  after  a 
similar  but  less  grave  attack,  he  had  appeared  "  rather 
odd "  for  a  few  weeks ;  and,  on  this  occasion,  when 
his  general  health  seemed  restored,  it  was  but  too 
evident  that  his  intellect  was  seriously  affected. 
Hitherto  most  frugal  and  punctual  in  all  his 
pecuniary  transactions,  he  now  ran  into  debt  with- 
out attempting  to  pay  any  one ;  and,  when  expostu- 
lated with  on  the  subject,  only  laughed,  and  seemed 
to  think  his  conduct  was  a  good  joke.  He  cut  and 
defaced  paintings  and  drawings,  the  sale  of  which 
would  have  amply  sufficed  to  discharge  his  very 
limited  liabilities ;  abandoned  all  professional  occu- 
pations ;  went  to  meals  at  houses  unasked,  and  some- 
times where  he  was  not  personally  acquainted;  and 
stole  flowers  from  gentlemen's  gardens — a  feat  which 
seemed  to  afford  him  the  greatest  delight.  His  chief 
hobby,  however,  and  which  he  called  his  lettro-mania, 
was  addressing  letters  alike  to  friends  and  strangers — 
some  replete  with  good  sense  and  piety,  some  frivolous 
and  absurd,  and  some  a  compound  of  sense  and  non- 

u 


290  MAD  HUMANITY 

sense.  The  gentry  of  the  place  and  parochial 
authorities  made  every  effort  to  provide  him  with 
decent  lodgings  and  the  necessaries  of  life,  while 
awaiting  the  instructions  of  his  friends,  who  resided 
in  the  South  of  France.  Meanwhile,  he  appeared 
so  thoroughly  the  happy  "  madman  gay,"  discoursing 
most  eloquently,  among  other  subjects,  on  the  beauty 
and  perfections  of  an  imaginary  fair  one  in  his  native 
land,  his  love-strains  most  ridiculously  contrasting 
with  his  years  and  appearance,  that  no  precautions 
were  adopted  to  place  him  under  supervision.  A 
retired  military  of&cer,  however,  who  had  seen  a  good 
deal  of  mental  fluctuations  in  derangement  while 
leading  the  wandering  life  of  a  soldier,  predicted  to 
some  of  the  old  inhabitants  a  serious  termination  of 
his  malady ;  and,  unfortunately,  the  prediction  was 
but  too  true,  for  not  long  after  he  was  found  one 
morning  in  his  bedroom  with  his  throat  cut,  and 
quite  lifeless. 

A  servant  threw  herself  at  the  feet  of  her  mis- 
tress, and  asked  permission  to  leave  the  house.  She 
confessed  that  every  time  she  undressed  the  child 
entrusted  to  her  care — a  child  for  whom  she  had  all 
the  tenderness  of  a  mother — she  experienced  a  desire 
almost  irresistible  to  rip  it  open. 

A  kind  and  amiable  man,  of  distinguished  merit, 
daily  prostrated  himself  at  the  foot  of  the  altar, 
imploring  the  Divine  mercy  to  deliver  him  also  from 
an  atrocious  inclination,  for  which  he  had  never  been 
able  to  give  any  account. 

The  following  is  a  case  of  homicidal  impulse 
associated  with  moral  insanity :  that  of  a  female, 
labouring  under  a  powerful  morbid  incentive.      She 


Suicidal  De.mkntia. 


UNRECOGNISED  CASES  291 

had  no  disorder  of  the  understanding,  nor  perversion 
of  her  intellectual  powers,  and,  in  particular,  she 
laboured  under  no  delusions  or  hallucinations.  She 
had  a  simple  abstract  desire  to  kill,  or  rather,  for 
it  took  a  specific  form,  to  strangle.  She  made  re- 
peated attempts  to  effect  her  purpose,  attacking 
all  and  sundry,  even  her  own  nieces  and  other 
relatives.  Indeed,  it  seemed  to  be  a  matter  of  in- 
difference to  her  whom  she  strangled,  so  that  she 
succeeded  in  killing  some  one.  She  recovered,  under 
strict  discipline,  so  much  self-control  as  to  be  per- 
mitted to  work  in  the  washing-house  and  laundry; 
but  she  still  continued  to  assert  that  she  "  must  do 
it,"  that  she  was  "certain  she  would  do  it  some 
day,"  that  she  could  not  help  it,  that  "surely  no 
one  had  ever  suffered  as  she  had  done,"  "was  not 
hers  an  awful  case  ? "  and,  approaching  any  one,  she 
would  gently  bring  her  hand  near  their  throat,  and 
say  mildly  and  persuasively :  "  I  would  just  like  to  do 
it."  She  frequently  expressed  a  wish  that  all  the 
men  and  women  in  the  world  had  only  one  neck,  that 
she  might  strangle  it.  Yet  this  female  had  a  kind 
and  amiable  disposition,  was  beloved  by  her  fellow- 
patients,  so  much  so  that  one  of  them  insisted  on 
sleeping  with  her,  although  she  herself  declared  that 
she  was  afraid  she  would  not  be  able  to  resist  the 
impulse  to  get  up  during  the  night  and  strangle  her. 
She  had  been  a  very  pious  woman,  exemplary  in  her 
conduct,  very  fond  of  attending  prayer  meetings,  and 
of  visiting  the  sick,  praying  with  them,  and  reading 
the  Scriptures,  or  repeating  to  them  the  sermons  she 
had  heard.  It  was  the  second  attack  of  insanity. 
During  the  former  she  had  attempted  suicide.      The 


292  MAD  HUMANITY 

disease  was  hereditary,  and  therefore  she  was  strongly 
predisposed  to  morbid  impulses  of  this  character,  when 
it  is  stated  that  her  sister  and  mother  both  committed 
suicide.  There  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  sincerity 
of  her  morbid  desires.  She  was  brought  to  the  in- 
stitution under  very  severe  restraint,  and  those  who 
brought  her  were  under  great  apprehension  upon  the 
restraint  being  discontinued.  After  its  removal  she 
made  repeated  and  very  determined  attacks  upon  the 
other  patients,  the  attendants,  and  the  officers  of  the 
asylum,  and  was  only  brought  to  exercise  sufficient 
self  -  control  by  a  system  of  rigid  discipline.  This 
female  was  perfectly  aware  that  her  impulses  were 
wrong,  and  that  if  she  had  committed  any  act  of 
violence  under  their  influence  she  would  have  been 
exposed  to  punishment.  She  deplored,  in  piteous 
terms,  the  horrible  propensity  under  which  she 
laboured. 


CHAPTER    XI 

CONFESSIONS    OF    THE    INSANE    AFTER    RECOVERY 

The  human  mind,  by  reflecting  internally  upon  its 
own  consciousness,  is  often  enabled  to  analyse  its 
faculties,  and  determine  the  laws  by  which  they  are 
governed,  and  by  a  similar  process  insane  patients 
may  themselves  frequently  account  for,  and  throw 
light  upon,  certain  states  of  mental  aberration.  The 
history  given  by  them  of  the  origin  and  development 
of  their  morbid  impulses  and  delusions  opens  a 
curious  field  for  psychological  speculation,  and  one 
that  has  not  hitherto  been  explored  in  this  country. 
The  existence  of  insanity,  be  it  remembered,  does  not 
necessarily  imply  a  complete  overthrow  and  depriva- 
tion of  all  the  reasoning  feculties.  The  moral 
affections  may  be  thoroughly  perverted,  and  the 
propensities  assume  a  wild  and  uncontrollable 
career,  yet  the  intellectual  faculties  remain  ab- 
solutely intact.  The  popular  notion  of  insanity  is 
that  the  unhappy  lunatic  is  always  in  a  state  of 
bewilderment  and  incoherency.  Hence  Mr.  Charles 
Dickens  introduces  a  madman's  manuscript  in  his 
Fickivick  Papers,  which,  in  accordance  with  this 
notion,  is  conceived  in   the  following  lofty  and  melo- 


294  MAD  HUMANITY 

dramatic  strain  :  "  Yes — a  madman — how  that  word 
would  have  struck  to  my  heart  many  years  ago — how 
it  would  have  roused  the  terror  that  used  to  come 
upon  me,  sometimes  sending  the  blood  hissing  and 
tingling  through  my  veins  till  the  cold  dew  of  fear 
stood  in  large  drops  upon  my  skin,  and  my  knees 
knocked  together  with  fright.  I  like  it  now,  though 
— it's  a  fine  name.  Show  me  the  monarch  whose 
angry  frown  was  ever  feared  like  the  glare  of  a  mad- 
man's eye — whose  cord  and  axe  were  ever  so  sure  as 
a  madman's  grip.  Ho  !  ho  !  It's  a  grand  thing  to 
be  mad — to  be  peeped  at  like  a  wild  lion  through  the 
iron  bars — to  gnash  one's  teeth  and  howl,  through  the 
long  still  night,  to  the  merry  ring  of  the  heavy  chain, 
and  to  roll  and  twine  among  the  straw,  transported 
with  such  brave  music.  Hurrah  for  the  madhouse. 
Oh,  it's  a  rare  place ! " 

The  late  Professor  Charles  Bell,  in  his  Anatomy  of 
Expression,  observes : — 

"  To  represent  the  prevailing  character  and  phy- 
siognomy of  a  madman,  the  body  should  be  strong  and 
the  muscles  rigid  and  distinct,  the  skin  bound,  the 
features  sharp,  the  eye  sunk,  the  colour  of  a  dark 
brown  yellow  tinctured  with  sallowness,  without  one 
spot  of  enlivening  carnation,  the  hair  sooty  black, 
stiff,  and  bushy.  Or,  perhaps,  he  might  be  repre- 
sented, as  in  the  Faery  Queen,  of  a  pale,  sickly  yellow, 
with  wiry  hair  : — 

'  His  burning  eyes,  whom  bloody  streakes  did  stain, 
Stared  full  wide,  and  threw  forth  sparks  of  fire, 
And  more  for  rank  despite  than  for  great  pain, 
Shaked  his  long  locks,  coloured  hke  copper  wire, 
And  bit  his  tawny  beard,  to  show  his  raging  ire.' 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    295 

"  You  see  him  lying  in  his  cell,  regardless  of  every- 
thing, with  a  death -like,  settled  gloom  upon  his 
countenance.  When  I  say  it  is  a  death-like  gloom, 
I  mean  a  heaviness  of  the  features,  without  knitting 
of  the  brows  or  action  of  the  muscles.  If  you  watch 
him  in  his  paroxysm  you  may  see  the  blood  working 
to  his  head,  his  face  acquires  a  darker  red,  he  becomes 
restless,  then,  rising  from  his  couch,  he  paces  his  cell 
and  tugs  his  chain ;  now  his  inflamed  eye  is  fixed 
upon  you,  and  his  features  lighten  up  into  wildness 
and  ferocity.  The  error  into  which  the  painter  may 
naturally  fall  is  to  represent  this  expression  by  the 
swelling  features  of  passion  and  the  frowning  eyebrow, 
but  this  would  only  give  the  idea  of  passion,  not  of 
madness.  Or  he  mistakes  melancholia  for  madness, 
The  theory  on  which  we  are  to  proceed  in  attempting 
to  convey  this  peculiar  look  of  ferocity  amidst  the 
utter  wreck  of  the  intellect,  I  conceive  to  be,  that  the 
expression  of  mental  energy  should  be  avoided,  and 
consequently  all  those  muscles  which  indicate  senti- 
ment. I  believe  this  to  be  true  to  nature,  because  I 
have  observed  (contrary  to  my  expectation)  that  tliere 
was  not  that  energy,  that  knitting  of  the  brows,  that 
indignant  brooding  and  though tfulness  in  the  faces  of 
madmen,  which  is  generally  imagined  to  characterise 
their  expression,  and  which  is  so  often  given  to  them 
in  painting.  There  is  a  vacancy  in  their  laugh,  and  a 
want  of  meaning  in  their  ferociousness.  To  learn  the 
character  of  the  countenance  when  devoid  of  human 
expression,  and  reduced  to  the  state  of  brutality,  we 
must  have  recourse  to  the  lower  animals,  and  study 
their  looks  of  timidity,  of  watchfulness,  of  excitement, 
and  of  ferocity.     If  these  expressions  are  transferred 


296  MAD  HUMANITY 

to  the  human  face,  I  should  conceive  that  they  will 
irresistibly  convey  the  idea  of  madness,  vacancy  of 
mind,  and  animal  passion." 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  lunatic  as  described  by  the 
novelist,  and  the  lunatic  as  depicted  by  the  critical 
artist;  but  in  each  case  it  is  the  exaggerated  repre- 
sentation of  a  maniacal  condition,  which  is  alw^ays  of 
short  duration  when  it  does  occur,  and  which  is  very 
rarely  met  with  in  any  asylum.  The  theory  pro- 
pounded by  Professor  Charles  Bell,  that  there  exists 
in  such  maniacal  cases  a  deficiency  of  mental  energy, 
and  that  there  is  a  want  of  meaning  also  in  the 
ferociousness  exhibited,  is  also  incorrect,  for,  on  the 
contrary,  during  these  paroxysms  of  excitement,  the 
mind  is  in  the  most  vigorous  state  of  exaltation,  pre- 
ternaturally  energetic  and  self-willed,  and,  so  far  from 
such  ferociousness  being  unmeaning,  it  is  characterised 
by  an  irrevocable  determination  and  a  dangerous  in- 
tensity of  purpose  which  absorbs  all  other  passions. 

These  descriptions  of  insanity  apply  to  a  state  of 
maniacal  furor  only ;  but  it  is  not  right  to  take  this 
as  the  common  type  of  lunacy,  for  not  unfrequently 
the  lunatic,  instead  of  being  a  repulsive  personage 
exciting  alarm  and  trepidation,  proves  to  be  a  man  of 
prepossessing  appearance,  fascinating  manners,  agree- 
able conversation,  full  of  wit,  learning,  and  anecdote. 
A  gentleman,  with  tlie  before-mentioned  gifts,  fancied 
tliat  his  family  had  conspired  together  to  poison  him, 
and  he  would  reason  upon,  and  even  struggle  against, 
the  delusion,  which  was  nevertheless  too  strong  for 
liim  to  master.  He  died,  and  upon  a  post-mortem 
examination,  the  valves  of  the  heart  were  found  ossi- 
fied ;  and  as  physical  sensations  frequently  give  rise  to 


CONFESSIOXS  OF  THE  IXSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    297 

erroneous  mental  impressions,  it  is  probable  that  tlie 
idea  of  poisoning  was  suggested  by  the  uneasiness 
which  he  felt  whenever  the  stomach  was  distended 
with  food.  Everything  he  ate  disagreed  with  him — 
the  heart  laboured  to  proptel  the  blood  through  its 
ossified  and  constricted  passages,  the  lungs  became 
congested  and  the  breathing  difficult — and  in  this 
state  he  was  wont  to  exclaim,  "  The  villains  have  been 
poisoning  me  again."  Nevertheless,  in  his  happier 
moments,  a  more  charming  companion  could  not  have 
been ;  and  no  one  ever  sat  down  in  his  society  without 
being  amused  and  interested,  and  no  one  went  away 
without  having  derived  some  information  from  the 
extent  of  his  reading  and  the  great  variety  of  his 
scientific  and  literary  acquisitions. 

AVith  reference  to  the  patients'  own  sentiments 
and  feelings  while  suffering  from  various  forms  of 
mental  disease,  I  will  let  them  speak  for  themselves 
by  giving  their  own  verbatim  statements. 

The  first  case  I  propose  giving  is  one  of  supposed 
''  Demoniacal  Possession,"  the  result  of  a  disturbed 
condition  of  the  functions  of  the  brain  and  nervous 
system ;  with  the  exception  of  the  hallucinations 
herein  described  he  was  on  every  other  point  a  rational, 
sensible,  and  intellicrent  man.  The  followino^  is  his 
own  statement  without  any  alterations  : — 

"  It  was  my  intention,  some  time  since,  to  write  a 
short  account  of  the  sufferings  I  had  experienced  for 
several  years  past  from  the  possession  of  evil  spirits ; 
but  in  consequence  of  having  been  constantly  pitied 
or  smiled  at,  and  having  met  with  no  one  who  would 
sympathise  with  me,  whenever  I  broached  such  a 
notion,  and  instanced  myself  as  a  proof  of  the  existence 


298  MAD  HUMANITY 

of  such  spirits,  I  had  nearly  forsaken  my  resolution, 
until  I  found  that  the  question,  whether  demoniacal 
possession  ceased  or  not  at  the  period  of  our  blessed 
Lord's  ascension,  had  really  become  a  matter  of  import- 
ance and  doubt  in  the  Church. 

"  Unacquainted  as  I  am  with  theological  discus- 
sions, and  wholly  unused  to  argumentative  composition, 
I  am  at  a  loss  in  what  manner  to  set  about  an  ex- 
planation on  the  subject  required.  May  I  trust  that 
by  commencing  with  a  slight  sketch  of  my  life, 
rendering  some  detail  of  the  affliction  I  have  under- 
gone, witli  the  authority  of  the  New  Testament,  I 
may  create  the  thought  and  establish  the  impression 
that  even  at  this  time  the  visitation  of  mortals  by  evil 
spirits  is  still  permitted  by  the  Most  High. 

"  I  am  induced  to  enter  into  a  narrative  of  my 
own  life  and  feelings  in  order  to  show  that  I  am  not  a 
person  likely  to  be  influenced  by  superstition  or  bigotry ; 
and  by  thus  developing  myself,  I  hope  to  gain  the 
confidence  and  conviction  of  the  reader,  although  to 
me  it  is  a  disagreeable  task  to  be  egotistic. 

"  I  was  born  in  tlie  P^ast,  my  grandfather  and 
father  both  being  officers  of  some  note  in  the  Com- 
pany's service,  and  was  brought  by  my  parents  to 
England  for  the  customary  purpose  of  education,  and 
on  their  return  to  India  was  left  by  them  here,  under 
the  charge  of  a  brother  officer  of  my  grandfather,  who 
was  then  retiring  from  the  service.  He  was  a  very 
enlightened  and  good  man,  and,  albeit  a  Eoman 
Catholic,  brought  me  up  to  the  religion  of  my  parents, 
which  was  that  of  the  Established  Church.  My 
father  had,  however,  I  believe,  previously  to  his 
entrance    into    the    army,   belonged,    as   did    most   of 


COXFESSIO^^S  OF  THE  INS  AXE  AFTER  RECOVERY    299 

his  relations  and  connections,  to  the  Society  of 
Friends. 

"  Whilst  I  remained  with  ray  guardian,  the  only 
book  he  placed  in  my  hands  on  religious  topics  was 
the  Bible,  from  which,  he  said,  I  ought  to  be  able  to 
form  my  own  religion,  irrespective  of  the  tenets  of  any 
sect.  He  would  not  hold  any  theological  arguments 
with  me ;  but  whatever  simple  explanations  I  required, 
he  was  ready  to  give,  without  advancing  his  own 
Roman  Catholic  doctrines. 

"  j\fy  father  having  died  in  India  shortly  after  his 
return  there,  before  I  was  eight  years  old,  and  my 
mother  continuing  to  reside  there,  I  remained  under 
the  sole  care  of  my  guardian  during  my  minority,  in 
the  course  of  which  I  was  placed  at  several  good 
schools  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  metropolis,  where 
I  obtained  what  little  learning  I  am  possessed  of. 

"  Expecting  to  get  an  appointment  in  the  Indian 
army,  and  having  been  disappointed  in  consequence  of 
my  hue,  and  the  prejudice  then  entertained  by  the 
Government  to  native  officers,  I  chose  a  liberal  pro- 
fession, and  at  an  early  age  was  declared  competent  to 
follow  it,  which,  as  my  mother  was  then  still  in  India, 
I  intended  to  enter  into  there ;  but  on  account  of  her 
return  to  England,  relinquished  such  idea,  and  com- 
menced business  in  this  country,  which,  having  carried 
on  for  some  years  with  success,  induced  me  to  marry, 
and  I  was  blessed  with  a  good  partner  and  several  fine 
children.  The  profits  from  my  profession  still  con- 
tinuing on  the  increase,  I  entered  into  some  money 
speculations,  which  caused  me  a  little  anxiety  and 
some  pecuniary  embarrassment,  but  I  retained  all  my 
usual  buoyancy  of  spirit. 


300  MAD  HUMANITY 

"  It  was  then,  whilst  taking  a  quiet  walk  one  evening, 
far  from  the  busy  hum  of  men,  about  five  years  since, 
I  heard  the  sound  of  voices  near  me,  speaking  of  me. 
I  looked  in  every  direction,  but  could  not  discover  any 
one ;  I  got  over  some  banks,  thinking  that,  probably, 
the  persons  might  have  been  concealed  from  view  by 
them ;  but  no  human  creatures  were  there.  I  walked 
away  from  the  spot,  still  the  voices  pursued  me.  I 
mixed  with  the  thickest  of  the  throng  in  the  metro- 
polis ;  the  voices  still  continued  to  haunt  me,  and  the 
words  then  uttered  were  :  '  Who  is  he  ?  do  you  know 
who  he  is  ? '  The  response  was,  *  He  is  Satan's  own.' 
These  words  seemed  continuously  to  proceed  from  the 
persons  I  passed.  I  crossed  and  recrossed  the  bridges; 
still  the  same  voices  followed  me.  Every  one  appeared 
to  ask  the  same  or  a  like  question,  and  there  was  a 
similar  reply.  Other  queries  and  answers  succeeded 
these,  relating  to  my  walking — for  my  pace  was  very 
rapid,  as  I  trusted  to  escape  the  notice  or  recognition 
of  the  passers-by ;  but  the  '  Devil's  Own '  was  either 
whispered  or  shouted  to  me,  apparently  by  almost 
every  one;  and  those  from  whom  the  sounds  did  not 
emanate,  appeared  hastily  to  get  out  of  my  way,  or,  in 
my  imagination,  shrunk  from  me  with  looks  expressive 
of  surprise.  No  doubt,  however,  that  my  strides  were 
those  of  a  possessed  person,  and  caused  those  I  met  or 
overtook  to  make  ample  space  for  me. 

"  The  whole  night  did  I  thus  perambulate  London 
and  its  environs,  occasionally  dozing  as  I  stood  still  for 
a  few  minutes  ;  and  in  this  manner  I  twice  accom- 
plished the  circuit  of  the  great  city,  vainly  hoping  that 
daylight  would  end  my  illusion.  Such  hope  was, 
indeed,  vain,  and  I  must  mention,  that  not  merely  the 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    301 

'  Devil's  Own '  was  sounded  in  my  ears,  but  observa- 
tions and  conversations  relating  to  me  incessantly 
occurred.  Yet  was  I  perfectly  in  my  senses.  I  went 
to  the  place  in  which  the  sounds  first  reached  me,  and 
examined  it  and  the  neighbourhood  minutely ;  of 
course  I  could  not  discover  any  Imman  power  to 
account  for  them.  I  then  began  to  think  of  animal 
magnetism ;  it  was  a  subject  on  which  I  had  thought 
little  before,  but  not  being  able  in  any  other  way  to 
fathom  the  mystery,  the  consideration  of  it  and  its 
effects  occupied  my  mind,  and  I  reasoned  that  I  might 
have  been  magnetised  by  a  nautical  compass,  which 
had  belonged  to  my  father,  and  that  I  had  constantly 
carried  about  me  for  a  considerable  length  of  time. 
The  voices  loudly  and  clamorously  spoke  of  all  my 
misdeeds,  and  taxed  me  with  sins  of  which  I  had 
not  been  guilty,  and  I  was  dared  to  meet  the  parties 
who  charo-ed  me  with  such  and  with  other  crimes.  I 
did,  accordingly,  go  to  a  friend  of  mine,  who  is  now 
dead,  and  told  him  how  I  had  been  aftected,  and  that 
I  wished  him  to  be  present  to  hear  the  voices,  if  he 
could,  and  the  charges  to  be  made  against  me,  which 
I  was  anxious  to  deny,  or  to  admit,  as  the  circum- 
stances had  been.  Several  voices  then  made  various 
accusations  against  me,  and  I  appeared  to  be  put  on  a 
regular  trial.  I  replied  to  the  charges  by  my  thoughts, 
without  speaking,  but  occasionally  my  tongue  could 
not  refrain  from  moving  within  my  lips  to  express  my 
thoughts,  without,  however,  giving  utterance  to  them. 
One  of  the  voices  was  remarkably  clear  and  loud.  It 
appeared  to  be  that  of  a  being  of  authority  in  conversa- 
tion with  another,  and  although  slightly  favourable  in 
his  expressions  of  my  good  conduct  throughout  life,  yet 


302  MAD  HUMANITY 

strong  and  severe  ^Yere  his  animadversions  on  my  bad 
thoughts  and  actions ;  and  here  everything  I  had  said, 
or  done,  or  omitted,  was  elucidated  instantly ;  hidden 
motives,  and  thoughts,  and  actions,  were  unravelled,  to 
my  great  astonishment,  and  my  heart  and  brain 
seemed  completely  laid  open.  All  was  written  down, 
or  directed  so  to  be,  and  the  next  day  was  appointed 
for  a  further  examination. 

"  I  asked  my  friend  repeatedly  during  this  apparent 
trial  if  he  heard  any  voices.  He  told  me  he  did  not. 
I  mentioned  to  him  wdiat  was  now  and  then  said  to 
me,  and  of  me.  I  smiled  at  myself,  for  I  knew  I  was 
only  in  a  room,  and  that  it  was  impossible  for  any 
worldly  being  to  speak  or  to  communicate  with  me 
except  my  friend.  I  looked  at  him — he  was  deej^ly 
engaged  in  writing ;  could  there  be  any  ventriloquism 
in  my  case  ?  I  knew  that  my  friend  was  not  thus 
gifted.  Besides,  the  voices  were  with  me  before  I 
saw  him  that  day.  What  could  have  occasioned  the 
sensation  of  sound  I  had  experienced — the  direct 
appeal  to  my  heart  and  brain  ?  I  was  entirely  in  my 
senses,  and  reasoned  on  the  absurdity  of  my  harbouring 
any  opinion  contrary  to  my  own  received  notion  of 
the  ordinary  laws  of  nature.  1  began  to  think  of 
mesmerism,  or  of  clairvoyance.  I  had  been  sceptical 
on  these  subjects.  Could  I  have  been  mesmerised  ? 
How  long  would  the  mesmeric  symptoms  last  ?  I  had 
a  strong  mind — how,  then,  could  1  have  been  affected 
by  any  one  ?  The  more  I  thought  the  less  could  I 
account  for  the  extraordinary  ordeal  to  which  I  was 
subjected.  I  did  not  believe  in  evil  spirits.  What  I 
had  read  in  the  Testament  relating  to  evil  spirits,  I 
had  always  construed  as  having  reference  to  madness 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    303 

or  derangement  of  intellect,  that  liad  been  cured  by  our 
Saviour.  I  did  not  believe  in  the  commonly  received 
notions  of  hell- fire,  and  flames  had  no  terrors  for  me, 
nor  have  they  now.  The  torment  that  I  considered 
awaited  us  after  judgment  was  the  sting  of  our  own 
consciences,  the  reflection  that  we  were  justly  debarred 
from  the  presence  of  God,  the  constant  remembrance  of 
our  misdeeds — the  bitterest,  the  most  poignant  remorse. 

"To  return.  After  this  seeming  trial,  the  remainder 
of  which  I  told  my  friend  would  be  deferred  till  the 
morrow,  when  I  would  see  him  again,  I  left  him. 
The  voices  still  continued  to  follow  me.  That  nioht  I 
also  walked  about,  for  I  did  not  wish  to  return  home 
with  the  words,  '  The  Devil's  Own,'  written,  as  it 
almost  appeared  to  me,  on  my  back,  or  with  the 
sounds  of  those  words  preceding  me,  or  announcing 
me  to  every  one. 

"  I  did  not,  nor  do  I  put  any  faith  in  fatality.  I 
have  always  been  in  the  habit  of  considering  that  man 
would  be  an  irresponsible  being  in  connection  with 
fate — that  if  he  were  fated  or  obliged  to  do  any  act, 
he  would  certainly  not  be  answerable  or  accountable 
for  it,  and  for  this  reason  I  was  an  advocate  for  free- 
will. This  did  not,  of  course,  exclude  the  notion  of 
the  predisposing  gift  of  grace  influencing  us  towards 
what  w^as  good  and  holy ;  but  it  would  still  leave  us 
free  thought  and  liberty  in  our  actions.  My  mind 
now,  however,  felt  fettered,  contrary  to  my  will — my 
thoughts  were  carried  into  channels  that  I  not  only  did 
not  desire,  but  that  I  studiously  and  with  all  the  energy 
in  my  power  endeavoured  to  prevent  them  rushing 
into  the  stream  of  I  appeared  in  the  grasp  of 
superior  beings. 


304  MAD  HUMAXITY 

"  The  next  day  I  went  prepared  for  another  exami- 
nation, but  I  was  not  again  put  on  my  trial.  The 
parties  seemed  partly  satisfied  with  my  mental  engage- 
ment of  compensation,  as  far  as  I  had  the  ability,  of 
any  persons  I  might  have  injured  in  thought,  word,  or 
deed.  My  friend  then  induced  me  to  lie  down  to 
compose  myself  I  returned  home.  Still  the  voices 
followed  me,  and  imagination  can  but  slightly  picture 
the  constant  wearying  sounds  of  remarks  on  me — 
speeches  to  me  —  alternately  on  my  actions  and 
thousfhts,  brinfi^inc:  all  that  I  ever  did  or  said  or 
thought  to  recollection.  In  the  daytime  I  did  not 
feel  the  annoyance  so  much,  on  account  of  the  variety 
of  things  and  persons  I  saw,  and  the  occupation  I  had ; 
but  in  the  stillness  of  night,  the  torments  I  endured 
were  unutterable,  indescribable.  The  hellish  sounds, 
the  dreadful  impieties  that  were  spoken  of — that  were 
foisted  on  me,  the  horrible  exclamations  and  impre- 
cations which  I  distinctly  heard,  the  fiendish  crimes 
proposed,  were  beyond  conception  ;  were  such  as  man, 
and  much  more  a  Christian,  w^ould  shudder  at  the  bare 
mention  of  Day  after  day,  night  after  night,  was  I 
subjected  to  this  visitation,  not  at  intervals,  but  con- 
tinually, indeed,  each  moment  of  my  life  was  em- 
bittered by  these  sounds ;  and  the  only  respite  I  had 
was  when  nature  was  wholly  exhausted,  and  two  or 
three,  or  sometimes  four,  hours'  repose  were  absolutely 
necessary  to  renew  my  existence  the  following  day 
under  such  complicated  sufferings.  AVhen  I  attempted 
to  pray,  I  could  not,  for  the  jeering  and  laughter  and 
impious  reflections  that  were  obtruded  on  me.  I  tried 
to  read,  but  could  only  get  through  a  few  short 
sentences  at  a  time,  and  those,  owing  to  the  voices,  I 


COXFESSIOXS  OF  THE  IXSAXE  AFTER  RECOVERY    305 

could  hardly  retain  in  my  recollection.  I  asked  for- 
giveness of  those  I  had  in  any  way  injured ;  I  read 
the  Xew  Testament,  but  I  seemed,  almost  insensibly  to 
myself,  to  omit  all,  except  our  Saviour's  words,  which 
I  read  aloud ;  these  gave  me  more  consolation  than 
anything  else.  I  wished  to  have  prayers  read  to  me, 
for  I  thought  the  evil  spirits  might  quit  me  in  the 
presence  of  a  clergyman.  One  kindly  came;  I  could 
not  pray,  and  was  obliged  to  tell  him  so.  I  felt  that 
I  could  not  kneel.  His  prayers  soothed  me  slightly, 
but  the  spirits  remained. 

"  For  change  of  scene,  and  hoping  I  should  get  free 
from  the  voices,  I  went  twice  to  France.  I  tried  the  sea 
coast  in  England,  and  all  kinds  of  amusements,  and 
also  the  effect  of  living  very  well,  thinking  my  nerves 
might  be  improved  by  a  still  more  generous  regimen 
than  I  had  ever  been  accustomed  to.  These  having 
no  effect,  I  had  myself  cupped  and  entirely  altered 
my  diet,  living  chiefly  on  vegetables,  and  avoiding  all 
fermented  liquors.  Nothing,  however,  made  any 
difference  in  my  sensations.  The  sounds  accompanied 
me  everywhere,  and  I  still  continued  the  prey  of  the 
evil  spirits.  I  could  plainly  distinguish  about  seven 
voices  ;  two  of  them  struck  me  as  the  voices  of  females. 
One  of  these  sometimes  spoke  in  over-soothing,  com- 
plaisant accents  to  me,  but  these  were  generally  used 
only  to  turn  me  to  ridicule  afterwards.  The  seven 
voices  remained  with  me  many  months,  when  three  left 
me,  and  four  continued  to  torment  me  for  nearly  a 
couple  of  years ;  and  since  then  I  have  only  had  two, 
a  male  and  female,  who  have  gradually  less  and  less 
annoyed  me  for  the  past  year.  It  is  now  five  years 
and  four  months  that  I  have  had  this  visitation  from 


306  MAD  HUMANITY 

God  ;  and  although  I  have  no  faith  in  dreams,  yet  most 
singularly  I  dreamt  of  my  father's  death  about  the 
time  it  occurred,  and  I  have  not  dreamt  of  him  since, 
until  the  beginning  of  this  month  of  September,  when 
I  dreamt  that  I  saw  him  interceding  with  God  for  the 
ceasing  or  suspension  of  my  sufferings  from  evil  spirits  ; 
and,  strange  to  say,  I  have  not  been  troubled  by  them 
since,  although  I  still  fancy  I  hear  a  slight  buzzing  in 
my  ears,  from  their  having  been  so  many  years  my 
constant  companions. 

"  It  would  take  me  many  hours  to  express  all  the 
machinations  of  the  evil  spirits  that  have  possessed 
me  during  so  lengthened  a  period  as  five  years  and 
upwards ;  but  by  the  power  and  mercy  of  God, 
through  the  merits  of  my  Saviour,  I  was  enabled  to 
bear  the  sufferings  to  which  I  was  exposed,  and  also 
partly  to  resist  the  temptations  to  which  I  was 
subjected ;  and,  as  I  said  before,  I  did  not  previously 
believe  in  evil  spirits,  but  since  my  affliction  I  have 
had  evidence  in  my  own  person  fully  sufficient  to 
satisfy  me  that  they  are  permitted  to  dwell  in  persons, 
or  to  attend  persons  in  this  world,  for  the  purpose  of 
proving  them  and  of  tormenting  them  if  they  sin. 

"  I  can  now  readily  understand  the  dreadful  agony 
sustained  by  those  possessed  of  devils  mentioned  in 
the  Holy  Scripture ;  and  I  would  humbly  venture  to 
account  for  our  Saviour's  temptation  in  the  wilderness, 
when,  having  fasted  forty  days  and  forty  nights.  He 
was  afterward  an  hungered,  and  the  tempter  came  to 
Him  and  said,  '  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  command 
that  these  stones  be  made  bread.'  Here  I  have  little 
doubt  that  the  devil  did  not  really  appear  bodily,  as  it 
may  be  termed,  but  spiritually  suggested  or  said  those 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    307 

words  to  our  Saviour  without  making  his  appearance. 
'  Then  the  devil  taketh  our  Saviour  up  into  the  holy- 
city,  and  setteth  him  on  a  pinnacle  of  the  temple.'  I 
do  not  know  what  the  Hebrew  word  that  is  translated 
*  pinnacle '  implies,  but  if,  probably,  it  was  a  summit 
of  the  temple  that  was  ascendible,  it  could  be  accounted 
for,  as  it  would  then  be  that  at  the  instigation  of  the 
devil  our  Saviour  went  into  Jerusalem,  and  to  this 
elevated  part  of  the  temple.  Again,  it  would  be 
similar  as  regards  our  Saviour  being  '  carried  up  into 
an  exceeding  high  mountain.'  The  evil  one,  in  my 
own  case,  has  never  appeared  to  me.  I  have  had 
wealth  and  power  offered  by  the  evil  spirits  to  me,  if 
I  would  give  myself  up  to,  or  worship  Satan ;  but  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  through  the  mediation  of  my 
Saviour,  I  was  enabled  to  resist  the  temptation. 

"That  in  the  time  of  our  Saviour  evil  spirits  or 
devils  were  common  there  can  be  no  question,  as  they 
are  repeatedly  referred  to  throughout  the  writings  of 
the  evangelists.  And  there  can  be  as  little  doubt  that 
devils  or  unclean  spirits  remained  after  our  Saviour's 
ascension,  as  they  were  cast  out  by  the  apostles,  as 
appears  in  the  Acts  v.  16  ;  viii.  7  ;  xvi.  18  ;  xix.  12. 
Not  having  quitted  the  world,  therefore,  at  the  period 
of  our  Saviour's  ascension,  it  is  not  by  any  means  prob- 
able that  evil  spirits  deserted  it  on  the  death  of  the 
apostles ;  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  tliat  they 
are  not  now  still  allowed  to  visit  the  earth.  I  was 
wholly  an  unbeliever  in  this  respect,  but  I  now  enter- 
tain no  doubt  on  the  subject,  from  my  past  long-tried 
experience ;  and  it  strikes  me  that  many  persons  who 
are  considered  and  pronounced  deranged,  are  really, 
instead,  possessed  by  evil  spirits.      It  may  be  said  that 


308  MAD  HUMANITY 

I  may  myself  be  in  a  state  of  derangement.  To  this  I 
would  oppose  these  facts — that  I  do  not  pretend  to 
having  had  any  ocular  demonstration  of  any  spirit,  nor 
have  I  had  any  distorted  visions  or  ideas.  I  have  not 
spoken  incoherently,  nor  have  I  acted  contrary  to 
rationality ;  but  I  have  always  been  blessed  with  my 
senses,  notwithstanding  this  heavy  calamity  of  evil 
possession,  with  which  it  has  pleased  God  to  visit  me, 
and  which  He  has  now  been  graciously  pleased  to 
remove  from  me.  May  all  others,  similarly  afflicted, 
experience,  in  like  manner,  the  mercy  and  goodness  of" 
God." 

The  following  description  is  given  by  a  young 
gentleman  of  talent  and  literary  pursuits,  who  suffered 
from  an  attack  of  acute  mania,  attended  by  consider- 
able physical  prostration.  The  attack  was  due  to 
over-excitement  in  religious  matters,  lasted  five  months, 
and  was  followed  by  complete  recovery : — 

"The  first  symptom  of  insanity,  in  my  own  case, 
was  want  of  sleep.  I  was  conscious  myself  of  this 
need  of  natural  slumber,  as  well  as  my  friends,  and 
tried  in  vain  to  obtain  it  from  narcotics.  The  very 
consciousness  of  the  fact  that  I  needed  repose,  and  my 
efforts  to  obtain  it,  only  aggravated  my  excitement, 
and  my  brain  grew  every  day  more  and  more 
disturbed.  At  last,  I  began  to  imagine  that  the  final 
dissolution  of  all  things  was  coming  on,  thus  trans- 
ferring the  tumult  in  my  own  mind  to  external  nature. 
I  was  removed  from  the  place  where  I  was  then  residing, 
to  be  conveyed  home  in  a  carriage,  a  distance  of  some 
thirty  or  forty  miles.  It  was  on  the  Sabbath,  in  the 
month  of  October,  and  one  of  the  most  lovely  days  of 
*  Indian    summer.'       A    golden   haze    overspread    the 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    309 

earth,  through  which  the  blue  peaks  of  the  Catskills 
loomed  softly  on  the  southern  horizon.  Had  I  been 
well,  I  should  have  enjoyed  the  ride,  for  autumn  is 
my  favourite  season  of  the  year ;  and  as  it  was,  the 
exceeding  loveliness  of  the  season  stole  in  upon  my 
fevered  brain  with  something  of  its  old  effect.  I 
imagined  that  it  was  my  last  look  upon  that  earth  that 
had  once  contained  for  me  so  much  gladness  and 
beauty.  The  rustling  of  the  dead  and  dying  leaves, 
and  the  smoking  light  that  lay  over  all  the  landscape, 
confirmed  the  impression. 

'  The  sun's  eye  had  a  sickly  glare, 
The  earth  with  age  was  dim.' 

Tlie  houses  as  we  passed  seemed  empty  and  desolate 
(which  was,  indeed,  true,  since  the  people  were  all 
gone  to  church) ;  scarcely  a  living  object  met  my  eye, 
except  a  few  people  that  were  passing  on  foot  or  in 
carriages,  and  even  they  seemed  more  dead  than  alive ; 
their  faces  wore  a  semi-inanimate,  unearthly  expression. 
As  I  gazed,  with  weary,  half-shut  eye,  down  the  long 
valley,  and  across  the  brown  woods  that  stretched  away 
to  the  base  of  the  distant  mountains,  there  came  into 
my  mind,  with  sublime  and  soothing  effect,  and  with 
all  the  force  of  reality,  this  fine  sentence,  which  I 
believe  to  be  found  somewhere  in  Holy  AVrit — 'And 
I  saw  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  in  a  vision.'  The 
roads  were  smooth,  the  horses  sped  along  briskly,  and 
I  believed  this  prophetic  utterance  was  to  be  literally 
accomplished  in  my  own  case,  and  that  I  was  thus, 
amid  the  profound  stillness  of  universal  nature,  to  ride 
over  the  whole  earth,  now  fading  with  its  last  autumn. 
During  the  ride  I  struggled  once  to  escape  from  the 


310  MAD  HUMANITY 

mau  who  held  me  by  his  side,  and  displaced  a  bandage 
on   my  arm,  where  I  had  been  recently  bled.     The 
blood  flowed  again  copiously  before  it  could  be  bound 
up,  and  this,  together  with  the  fatigue  of  my  efforts,  so 
exhausted  me    that,  when  at  evening   we  reached  a 
small  town  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  my  vital  strength 
was  nearly  spent.      I  lay  faint  and  weary,  and  gazed 
dimly  upon  the  water  while  waiting  for  the  ferry-boat. 
The  bells  were  ringing  for  the  evening  service,  and  the 
streets   were   filled    with   people    flocking    to    church. 
The  full  moon  was  rising  in  mild  splendour  over  the 
eastern  hills  beyond  the  river,  and  the  evening  wind 
was  just  curling  the  water  into  a  ripple.      I  thought 
the    river   was  no   other  than  the  Jordan  of  Death, 
across   which   I   was   about   to   pass   into   the   happy 
country  beyond,  and  that  the  whole  world  was  follow- 
ing me  to  judgment.      While  crossing,  I  turned  my 
eye  up  the  stream,  and  as  the  soft  light  lay  upon  the 
water,  and  the  white  sails  of  the  sloops  dotted  the  long 
vista,  a  sense  of  unutterable   beauty  filled  my  soul. 
When  we  were  on  the  other   side,  and   had   nearly 
reached    home,   we    passed    through    another    village, 
wdiere  the  bells  were  again  ringing,  and  a  stream  of 
people  passing  along  to  church.      I  recognised  every 
familiar  object,  but   tlie  same  idea  continued  in   my 
mind,  and  it  seemed  the  bells  were  tolling,  and  the 
nations    coming   up   to  judgment.       After   I  reached 
home  I  must  have  slept  for  some  time,  for  when  I  next 
woke  to   consciousness  I  cannot  precisely  determine, 
but    it    seemed    that    the    demons   of    madness    were 
pursuing  me  again.      I  fled  back  into  the  scenes  of  the 
Jewish  dispensation  for  repose.      I  found  myself  trans- 
ferred into  the  early  history  of  the  world. 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    311 

"  About  this  time  the  autumn  rains  set  in,  and  I 
supposed  myself  in  the  ark,  flying  through  the  stormy 
waters.  I  was  lying  in  an  upper  room  in  the  house 
of  my  brotlier-in-law,  and  as  I  looked  out  at  the 
dreary  weather,  everything  conspired  to  favour  this 
delusion.  The  window  curtains  were  parted,  so  that 
the  space  through  which  the  light  came  in  was  in  the 
form  of  a  steep  lattice-roof,  such  as  I  remember  in  the 
old  pictures  of  the  ark.  Here  I  obtained  a  short 
repose,  but  the  pursuing  fiend  found  me  agaiu,  and 
drove  me  abroad  through  boundless  space.  Then 
every  muscle  and  nerve  seemed  wrought  to  the  utmost 
tension,  and  I  imagined  that  the  world  was  again  dis- 
solved into  chaos,  and  that  all  living  things  had 
perished,  but  that  I  had  found  out  the  great  secret  of 
Nature,  and  through  me  the  universe  was  to  be 
reconstructed.  I  thought  that  I  was  the  living, 
intelligent  principle  of  electricity,  and  that  I  had 
power  to  call  into  my  own  person  all  the  electric  fluid 
in  the  world ;  and  thus  I  was  to  give  life  again  to  my 
friends  and  others.  My  father  had  lately  arrived,  and 
he  made  a  remark  in  my  hearing  which  partially  gave 
rise  to  this  idea.  He  said  he  heard  the  wires  of  the 
electric  telegraph  ring  as  he  passed  along  the  road.  T 
thought  all  the  telegraph  wires  in  the  city  were 
employed  in  conducting  the  fluid  into  my  body ;  and 
this  gave  me  unnatural  strength.  I  tliought  I  was 
moving  by  some  attraction  towards  the  sun,  and  that 
there,  in  the  opaque  centre  of  the  great  luminary,  I 
should  at  last  find  an  eternal  rest,  and  rejoin  my 
friends  and  kindred.  But  these  periods  of  intense 
excitement  were  followed  by  great  nervous  prostration, 
and  then  I  would  seem  to  lose  again  all  my  powers, 


312  MAD  HUMANITY 

the  electric  fluid  was  dispersed,  the  spirits  of  my 
friends  were  scattered  again,  and  I  seemed  to  be  sink- 
ing through  immeasurable  depths  of  space,  when  I  was 
just  on  the  point  of  acliieving  immortal  happiness. 
Again,  as  I  had  almost  gathered  in  the  scattered 
spirits,  and  the  new  earth  was  about  complete,  a  comet 
struck  us,  and  we  were  dashed  into  numerous  frag- 
ments, upon  which  we  were  hurled  flaming  through 
the  universe.  Then  there  was  a  great  battle  in  the 
sky  among  hostile  powers ;  some  of  my  friends  w^ere 
upon  separate  fragments,  and  vast  gulfs  of  fire  yawned 
between  us.  I  was  left  upon  one  small  piece,  with 
only  two  persons  with  me  (these  were  two  men  who 
sat  up  wdth  me  through  the  night).  A  lurid  light 
surrounded  us,  and  these  were  enemies  with  whom  my 
father,  upon  another  fragment,  and  with  a  large 
squadron  of  my  friends,  was  about  to  do  battle  for  my 
recovery.  I  must  have  slept  very  little  during  this 
time,  which  was  only  a  week,  though  it  seemed  to  me 
a  century. 

"  The  familiar  faces  of  my  friends,  as  they  came 
into  the  room,  would  seem  for  a  time  to  partially 
restore  me  to  reason,  and  bring  me  back  to  the  earth 
again.  Then  I  heard  sounds  of  harmony,  and  a  noise 
of  chains,  and  the  voices  of  men  outside  the  house,  and 
I  imagined  they  were  trying  to  bind  me  to  the  earth, 
and  attaching  all  the  oxen  and  horses  in  the  world  to 
(h'aw  me  back  when  I  was  endeavouring  to  fly  away. 
Again,  I  w^ould  seem  to  rise  in  the  air,  and  the  house 
became  a  balloon,  floating  above  the  town  in  the  gaze 
of  assembled  thousands.  At  last,  failing  to  find  rest 
for  my  soul,  I  fled  still  farther  back  into  the  past 
history  of  the  world,  for   the   purpose   of  reaching  a 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    313 

period  in  the  human  race  as  remote  as  possible,  or 
even  anterior,  to  the  existence  of  men,  so  as  to  include 
all  that  had  ever  lived  in  the  new  creation,  and  thus 
reconcile  all  hostility  among  contending  spirits.  I 
betook  myself  to  Grecian  mythology,  and  became 
Apollo,  or  the  sun  himself,  the  source  of  all  life. 

"  When  I  was  removed  from  the  house  to  be  con- 
veyed to  the  asylum,  I  suspected  there  was  some 
design  upon  me,  and  resisted ;  but  when  I  got  into 
the  carriage,  and  two  of  the  gentlemen  who  accom- 
panied me  sat  with  me,  while  the  third  mounted  the 
box  and  drove,  I  thought  he  was  Phaeton,  driving  the 
horses  of  the  sun,  and  that  I  ought  to  be  doing  it 
myself,  and  then  the  men  by  my  side  kept  saying  to  me, 
'  Never  mind,  sit  still ;  he  don't  know  the  team,  he 
don't  understand  the  horses.'  Whether  anything  of 
this  kind  was  actually  said  I  know  not,  but  it  con- 
firmed my  impression ;  and  though  I  felt  personally 
secure  from  harm,  I  feared  he  would  destroy  himself, 
and  produce  universal  ruin  again,  by  driving  my 
coursers.  When  we  drove  up  to  the  asylum,  its 
imposing  front  made  quite  an  impression  upon  me. 
I  had  some  idea  of  the  true  character  of  the  building, 
but  the  predominant  fancy  overruled  it,  and  the  build- 
iug  became  the  temple  of  Apollo,  into  the  possession 
of  which  I  was  about  to  enter,  as  my  rightful  resi- 
dence. 

"  Then  followed  a  period  of  unconsciousness,  broken 
here  and  there  only  by  impressions  vivid  enough  to 
be  recalled  to  memory.  Heathen  mythology  became 
mixed  with  modern  astronomy,  and  I  was  transferred 
from  Apollo  to  Mars,  and  became  the  god  of  war.  At 
this   time  I  was  very  violent,  and  struggled   fiercely 


314  MAD  HUMANITY 

with  my  attendants ;  finally,  getting  no  repose,  and 
finding  that  I  saw  my  friends  no  more,  I  despaired  of 
getting  back  again,  and  thought  myself  a  comet — the 
living  intelligent  head  of  a  comet — flying  through 
space  with  inconceivable  velocity,  and  passing  far 
beyond  the  confines  of  the  habitable  universe,  thus 
leaving  my  friends  hopelessly  behind  me.  I  lost  all 
sense  of  time  and  space.  A  whizzing  and  careering 
through  trackless  solitudes,  a  sense  of  rapid  and  lonely 
motion  at  an  incalculable  rate,  and  a  sinking  of  the 
heart  in  utter  despair,  are  all  I  can  recollect.  But  at 
length  I  began  to  notice  the  succession  of  day  and 
night,  and  observe  things  about  me;  then,  to  be 
sensible  of  hunger  and  thirst  and  clothing.  This 
checked  my  career,  and  I  now  believed  my  friends, 
with  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  were  in  the 
planet  Jupiter,  and  that  a  cable  had  been  passed  over 
to  me,  by  which  I  was  moored  alongside,  or  rather, 
held  attached,  though  still  at  a  great  distance.  Along 
this  rope  they  passed  me  food  and  drink,  and  clean 
clothes,  and  the  spirits  of  my  nearest  friends  came 
across,  and  entered  the  bodies  of  those  whom  I  saw 
around  me.  One  of  the  attendants  I  took  to  be  my 
brother,  though  he  resembled  him  but  slightly  ;  another 
was  an  intimate  friend,  while  another  was  my  implac- 
able enemy. 

"  I  began  gradually  to  realise  my  situation — to  feel 
that  I  was  confined  within  stone  walls.  I  tried  to 
escape  from  the  window,  and  should  have  precipitated 
myself  boldly  from  any  height,  for  I  had  no  doubt 
whatever  that  I  should  fly  direct  to  Jupiter,  could  I 
get  into  free  air.  An  ethereal  lightness  seemed  to 
pervade   my  whole   frame,  and   the  great  stone  edifice 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    315 

itself  appeared  to  be  sustained  in  mid-air.  It  was  a 
long  time  after  I  began  to  recover  and  walked  out 
before  the  earth  seemed  firm  and  resisting  under  my 
feet.  During  the  day  I  enjoyed  myself  tolerably  well, 
while  I  was  permitted  to  walk  the  hall ;  and  the  sight 
of  the  sun,  when  he  occasionally  appeared  during  the 
cloudy  days  of  mid-winter,  rejoiced  me  greatly;  but 
at  the  approach  of  night  I  fancied  that  I  was  falling 
into  the  power  of  evil  again,  and  the  lighting  of  the 
gas  was  very  obnoxious  to  me.  I  tried  to  blow  out 
the  light,  and  once  pulled  down  one  of  the  gas-pipes, 
supposing  that  thereby  I  could  hide  the  darkness  and 
restore  the  dominion  of  the  sun  again.     At  last : — 

'  All  these  sharp  fancies  by  down-lapsing  thouglit 
Streamed  onwards,  lost  their  edges  and  did  creep, 
Rolled  on  each  other,  rounded,  smoothed,  and  brought 
Into  the  gulfs  of  sleep.' 

"  From  the  time  I  began  to  sleep  soundly,  my 
recovery  was  sure.  But  every  night  I  visited 
Jupiter,  and  had  entrancing  visions  of  loveliness 
spread  before  me.  I  could  see  the  convexity  of 
the  planet  rising  slowly  before  me,  but  yet  sway- 
ing to  and  fro  as  if  in  uncertain  equilibrium ;  and 
heaving  and  tossing  like  a  balloon,  or  a  ship  at 
sea.  From  this  delightful  abode,  I  was  invariably 
driven  by  my  pursuing  demon,  and  brought  back  to 
my  prison  again,  notwithstanding  the  superhuman 
efforts  of  my  friends  to  save  me.  About  this  time,  the 
news  of  the  death  of  an  influential  personage,  and  the 
result  of  an  important  election  in  which  I  had  been 
considerably  interested,  began  to  make  some  impres- 
sion upon  me.     At  length,  one  day,  I  happened  to  see 


316  MAD  HUMANITY 

a  new  book,  and  a  January  number  of  a  magazine,  and 
this  established  a  correct  idea  of  time.  Then  I  in- 
quired the  day  of  the  month,  and  began  to  keep  that, 
as  also  the  days  of  the  week.  Still,  there  was  a  vast 
chasm  behind  me,  and  I  thought  I  had  been  here 
millions  of  years.  I  was  astonished  to  find,  upon 
inquiry,  that  it  had  been  but  little  more  than  two 
months.  From  this  time  forth,  I  recovered  rapidly. 
My  delusive  fancies  broke  up,  and  began  to  recede 
from  my  mind  like  the  figures  in  a  dissolving  view.  I 
adopted  the  lunatic  asylum  as  a  fixed  fact,  and  began 
to  accommodate  myself  to  my  situation. 

"  Such  are  some  of  the  facts  in  my  own  experience 
of  insanity.  It  will  be  seen  from  this,  that  the  first 
step  towards  recovery  is  to  correct  the  perceptions,  so 
as  to  make  things  seem  what  they  are,  or  what  they 
seem  to  rational  people — in  nautical  phrase,  to  take 
an  observation,  ascertain  bearings  and  distances,  and 
write  up  the  log.  After  once  recovering  the  ideas  of 
time  and  space,  and  firmly  fixing  them,  consciousness 
will  come  back  to  its  original  seat,  and  adapt  itself 
again  to  realities.  Thus  the  great  material  universe 
will  finally  sw^ing  round  again  to  the  senses,  and  the 
old  order  become  re-established.  Sometimes  a  sudden 
surprise,  such  as  the  appearance  of  a  long -absent 
friend,  the  news  of  the  death  of  a  beloved  one,  or 
some  other  remarkable  occurrence,  will  accomplish  this 
at  once,  and  restore  reason  instantaneously.  In  such 
cases  there  seems  to  be  a  powerful  reaction,  as  if  the 
mind  were  jerked  back  into  its  socket,  like  a  dislocated 
shoulder-blade.  I  have  no  doubt  the  sudden  appear- 
ance of  valued  friends,  a  few  weeks  after  I  was 
brought  here,  would  have  had  this  effect  upon  me. 


COXFESSIOXS  OF  THE  INSAXE  AFTER  RECOVERY    317 

"  When  public  benevolence  reaches  such  a  height, 
or  the  means  of  patients  are  so  ample  as  to  induce 
the  medical  faculty  to  investigate  the  subject  more 
thoroughly,  so  that  scientific  principles  can  be  more 
generally  carried  into  effect  in  the  treatment  of  insanity, 
much  greater  success  may  be  looked  for,  and,  doubt- 
less, many  cases  now  regarded  hopeless  would  be 
found  not  incurable." 

The  case  I  now  shall  refer  to  is  a  gentleman,  aged 
thirty,  who  presented  himself  at  the  gates  of  a  large 
asylum  early  in  the  morning  requesting  admission. 
He  was  overcome  with  fatigue,  having  been  wandering 
for  several  days  and  nights  about  the  streets  of  the 
metropolis.  He  stated  "  he  was  a  prophet  of  the  Lord 
on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  had 
directed  him  hither  to  seek  food  and  rest."  He  was 
obviously  suffering  from  religious  delusions,  and  after 
communicating  with  his  friends  he  was  duly  certified 
and  admitted.  His  occupation  was  a  steward  in  the 
household  of  a  gentleman,  and  his  statement  w^as  as 
follows  :  "  From  July  to  aSTovember  I  was  highly 
nervous,  and  experienced  a  considerable  loss  of 
strength  and  flesh ;  I  spoke  sometimes  so  sharply  to 
those  around  me  as  to  startle  them  and  make  them 
fear  me.  About  this  time  (the  beginning  of  the 
attack)  I  felt  great  anxiety  for  the  eternal  salvation 
of  my  employer.  His  brother  was  lying  ill,  and  I 
begged  that  I  might  visit  him,  but  my  offer  was  re- 
fused; I  therefore  prayed  earnestly  for  his  recovery, 
and  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing  next  day  that  he 
was  better.  Strong  hope,  mingled  with  fear,  now  took 
possession  of  me.  When  at  prayer  something  would 
pull  at  my  back,  blow  in  my  face  as  if  in  derision, 


318  MAD  HUMANITY 

and,  hovering  ronnd  my  mouth,  try  to  snatch  the 
words  from  my  lips.  At  night,  when  in  bed,  I  felt 
something  press  upon  my  chest,  and  awoke  in  great 
trepidation  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  when  I  some- 
times heard  music  at  a  distance.  These  impressions 
terrified  me  so  much  that  I  dreaded  to  lie  down ;  then 
again,  I  was  afraid  of  forfeiting  God's  confidence  by 
committing  some  undefined  sin  that  I  could  not  resist. 
Therefore  T  felt  a  strong  inclination  to  leave  the  house 
of  my  benefactor,  which  desire  was  increased  by  my 
imagining  that  the  persons  in  it  would  fall  into 
apostasy.  Hence  I  had  recourse  to  prayer  with  all 
my  heart,  with  all  my  power,  and  while  praying  nearly 
fainted.  It  next  occurred  to  me  that  my  employer 
had  become  rich  by  unjust  gains,  and  that  he  and  his 
wife  would  be  trodden  down  in  the  streets  and 
trampled  to  death.  One  evening,  while  at  prayer,  I 
saw  a  circle  descend  slowly  on  my  head,  and  after- 
wards told  my  wife  that  I  was  the  anointed  of  the 
Lord,  but  she  did  not  appear  to  understand  my  mean- 
ing. Felt  that  I  was  very  ignorant  of  the  Scriptures ; 
but  expected  every  day  that  the  power  of  God  would 
instruct  me,  and  that  I  should  be  commanded  to  leave 
the  house  on  a  sudden,  so  I  put  all  things  in  order  for 
my  departure.  On  the  9th  of  March  I  left,  but  I  was 
greatly  agitated,  and  wept  frequently,  being  unable  to 
restrain  my  feelings.  About  this  period,  I  began  to 
see  objects  like  gnats  floating  before  my  eyes,  and 
thought  that  they  were  wicked  spirits  watching  me  ; 
however,  I  felt  satisfied  that  I  was  anointed  in  a  very 
high  degree,  and  that  my  mission  from  the  Holy  Spirit 
was  to  walk  incessantly  about,  and  convert  the  people 
T  met  with.      As  T  passed  near  to  them,  T  believed  the 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    m9 

Holy  Spirit  transferred  itself  from  me  to  them  ;  so 
I  selected  the  most  crowded  thoroughfares  in  the 
metropolis  for  the  work  of  conversion,  and  extended 
my  walks  daily,  sometimes  even  into  the  adjoining 
counties,  and  I  thought  the  people  often  turned  round 
and  looked  at  me  as  I  passed,  with  great  satisfaction, 
as  if  conscious  of  the  blessing  I  had  conferred  on  them. 
To  see  the  crowds  I  had  converted  greatly  encouraged 
me  in  my  labours ;  and  now,  delighted  with  my  office, 
I  had  special  revelations.  One  niglit,  while  in  bed, 
I  saw  the  glory  of  the  moon ;  it  was  like  an  horizontal 
pillar  across  the  moon,  which  increased  in  size  and 
radiance  as  it  approached  my  bedroom  window,  and  I 
now  believed  that  I  was  to  be  a  prince,  and  the  high  priest 
of  our  Saviour.  Upon  the  approach  of  the  morning  I 
felt  a  burning  flame  around  me,  and  conceived  that  it 
was  the  glory  of  God  sanctifying  me  for  the  work  I 
had  to  perform.  My  sensations  frequently  alarmed 
me ;  more  than  once  I  was  afraid  I  should  go  mad, 
and  then  I  alternately  laughed  and  wept.  One  day, 
I  heard  my  feet  speaking  to  me,  telling  me  that  I 
should  be  a  king  and  reign  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  I  also 
heard  other  voices  telling  me  that  I  was  Dan,  the  sou 
of  Jacob,  and  should  have  large  possessions  at  Jeru- 
salem. Thus,  having  left  my  home,  I  wandered  over 
miles  of  ground,  imagining  that  I  was  forbidden  to  sit 
down  or  stand  still,  and,  after  having  w^alked  the  whole 
night,  one  morning  I  arrived  in  Sion  Lane,  and  was,  by 
one  of  the  cottagers,  conducted  to  the  house,  where  I 
expected  to  find  food  and  rest.  The  proprietor,  I  sup- 
posed was  a  high  churchman ;  and  I  expected  all  the 
inhabitants  w^ould  come  while  I  was  asleep  and  look 
at  me,  in  order  that  they  might  be  converted.     During 


320  MAD  HUMANITY 

the  first  few  weeks  of  my  residence  there  many 
strange  fancies  came  across  my  brain  ;  with  my  new 
companions  and  the  medical  gentlemen  I  conversed 
freely,  and  gradually  became  quite  conscious  that  I 
had  been  under  delusions  which  have  happily  passed 
away,  and  my  mental  health  is  now,  I  am  grateful  to 
believe,  quite  restored." 

A  lady  who  suffered  from  hallucinations  caused  by 
the  morphia  habit  thus  describes  her  symptoms  : 
"After  taking  a  few  doses  of  morphia,  I  felt  a 
sensation  of  extreme  quiet  and  wish  for  repose,  and  on 
closing  my  eyes  visions,  if  I  may  so  call  them,  were 
constantly  before  me,  and  as  constantly  changing  in 
their  aspect — scenes  from  foreign  lands,  lovely  land- 
scapes, with  tall,  magnificent  trees,  covered  with 
drooping  foliage,  which  was  blown  gently  against  me 
as  I  walked  along.  Then  in  an  instant  I  was  in  a 
besieged  city  filled  with  armed  men.  I  was  carrying 
an  infant,  which  was  snatched  from  me  by  a  soldier, 
and  killed  upon  the  spot.  A  Turk  was  standing  by 
with  a  scimitar  by  his  side,  which  I  seized,  and 
attacking  the  man  who  had  killed  the  child,  I  fought 
most  furiously  with  him  and  killed  him.  Then  I  was 
surrounded,  made  prisoner,  carried  before  a  judge,  and 
accused  of  the  deed;  but  I  pleaded  my  own  cause 
with  such  a  burst  of  eloquence  (which,  by  the  way,  I 
am  quite  incapable  of  doing  in  my  right  mind),  that 
judge,  jury,  and  hearers  acquitted  me  at  once.  Again, 
I  was  in  an  Eastern  city,  visiting  an  Oriental  lady, 
who  entertained  me  most  charmingly.  We  sat 
together  on  rich  ottomans,  and  were  regaled  with 
coffee  and  confectionery ;  then  came  soft  sounds  of 
music  at  a  distance,  while  fountains  were  playing  and 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    321 

birds  singing,  and  dancing-girls  danced  before  us, 
every  movement  being  accompanied  with  the  tinkling 
of  silver  bells  attached  to  their  feet.  But  all  this 
suddenly  changed,  and  I  was  entertaining  the  Oriental 
lady  in  my  own  house  ;  and,  in  order  to  please  her 
delicate  taste,  I  had  everything  prepared,  as  nearly  as 
possible,  after  the  fashion  with  which  she  had  so 
enchanted  me.  She,  however,  to  my  no  small  surprise, 
asked  for  wine  ;  and  took  not  one,  two,  or  three  glasses, 
but  drank  freely,  until  at  last  I  became  terrified  that 
she  would  have  to  be  carried  away  intoxicated. 
While  considering  what  course  I  had  better  adopt, 
several  English  officers  came  in,  and  she  at  once  asked 
them  to  drink  with  her,  wdiich  so  shocked  my  sense  of 
propriety  that  the  scene  changed,  and  I  was  in  darkness. 
"  Then  I  felt  that  I  was  formed  of  granite  and 
immovable.  Suddenly  a  change  came  again  over  me, 
and  I  found  that  I  consisted  of  delicate  and  fragile 
basket-work.  Then  I  became  a  danseuse,  delighting 
an  audience  and  myself  by  movements  which  seemed 
barely  to  touch  the  earth.  Presently  beautiful  sights 
came  before  me,  treasures  from  the  depths  of  the  sea — 
gems  of  the  brightest  hues,  gorgeous  shells,  coral  of 
the  richest  colours,  sparkling  with  drops  of  water,  and 
hung  with  lovely  seaweed.  My  eager  glances  could 
not  take  in  half  the  beautiful  objects  that  passed 
before  me  during  the  incessant  changes  the  visions 
underwent.  Now  I  was  gazing  upon  antique  brooches 
and  rings  from  buried  cities ;  now  upon  a  series  of 
ancient  Egyptian  vases ;  now  upon  sculptured  wood- 
work, blackened  by  time ;  and  lastly,  I  was  buried 
amidst  forests  of  tall  trees  such  as  I  had  read  of,  but 
never  seen. 


322  MAD  HUMANITY 

"  The  sights  that  pleased  me  most  I  had  power,  to 
a  certain  extent,  to  prolong,  and  those  that  displeased 
me  I  could  occasionally  set  aside  ;  and  I  awoke  myself 
to  full  consciousness  once  or  twice,  while  under  the 
influence  of  the  morphia,  by  an  angry  exclamation 
that  I  would  not  have  it.  I  did  not  once  lose  my 
personal  identity." 

This  lady  almost  invariably  suffered  more  or  less 
from  hallucinations  of  the  foregoing  character,  if  it 
became  necessary  to  administer  to  her  an  opiate;  and 
on  analysing  her  visions,  she  could  generally  refer  the 
principal  portions  of  them,  notwithstanding  their  confu- 
sion and  distortion,  to  works  that  she  had  recently  read. 

A  student  studying  at  the  university  was  brought 
to  an  asylum  suffering  from  an  attack  of  acute  mental 
disease,  produced  by  too  intense  application  to  his 
studies.  He  remained  at  the  asylum  for  six  months, 
rejoined  his  university,  and  completed  his  curriculum 
with  honour.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  his 
diary  describing  his  condition  during  his  illness  : — 

"  My  memory  during  the  whole  period  of  my 
violent  illness  was  preternaturally  active,  calling  up 
scenes  and  recollections  of  very  early  childhood, — the 
toys  and  various  utensils  then  about  me,  the  little 
adventures  and  queer  speeches  which  will  cling  to 
one's  memory,  while  more  important  matters  escape, — 
these,  and  almost  everything, — names,  scenes,  historical 
and  personal  incidents,  fact  or  fiction,  phrases  of  other 
languages,  passages  of  poetry  and  of  the  Bible, — all 
these,  by  the  merest  similitude  of  sound,  of  name,  or 
any  other  near  or  remote  principle  of  association,  were 
grouped  in  my  mind,  and  would  flit  across  its  vision 
with  inconceivable  rapidity. 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    323 

"  Orten,  I  remember,  have  I  lain  on  my  sleepless 
bed,  and  strung  one  group  of  words  together,  as  they 
thus  occurred  to  me,  and,  catching  at  some  slight 
analogy  in  the  last,  would  run  off  into  another  distinct 
series ;  and  thus,  till  the  tongue  fairly  wearied,  and 
the  lips  refused  to  move,  have  arranged  the  affairs  and 
settled  the  disputes  of  generations  past,  present,  and 
yet  to  be, — of  princes  and  potentates,  of  injured  queens, 
and  defrauded  heirs-apparent, — rummaging  the  legends 
of  the  Tower,  and  all  the  dark,  romantic  lore  of 
Scottish  feudal  life ;  righting  the  wrong  in  every 
department  or  age  of  human  existence ;  quarrelling 
most  irreverently  and  pertly  with  many  characters 
usually  deemed  sacred,  and  elevating  in  my  own 
imagination  many  of  those  luckless  but  interesting 
heroes,  who,  with  many  dazzling  and  redeeming 
qualities,  had  yet  the  misfortune  to  be  wicked. 

''  Here  came  out  in  full  my  sneaking  liking  for 
Saul  and  Pontius  Pilate  (a  very  clever  fellow,  by  the 
way,  who  occasionally  appeared  in  the  hall,  and  had 
an  unfortunate  squint),  Henry  VIIL,  Herod  (whose 
valiant  slaughter  of  Judea's  infantry  always  inspired 
my  young  mind  with  a  dread  feeling  of  admiration), 
and  Nebuchadnezzar.  All  these  were  living,  breathing 
personages  to  me — for  death  seemed  but  a  voluntary 
step,  and  a  slight  one — and  wdth  these  I  communed  in 
the  night-watches.  I  thought  I  heard  them  answer 
me,  and  I  spoke  as  in  reply — sometimes  sadly,  remem- 
bering some  sorrowful  scene  gone  by,  with  which  I 
intimately  connected  them ;  sometimes  in  irrepressible 
glee  ;  and  again  in  anger — the  mood  varying  with  the 
turn  of  a  word.  Sometimes  I  would  fall  upon  what, 
to    me,    was    a    sublime    thought,    and    remembering 


324  MAD  HUMANITY 

Napoleou's  saying,  was   pretty  certain   to   change   to 
a  ludicrous  interpretation,  or  some  other  such  turn. 

"  Shortly  after,  I  got  a  letter  from  my  sister  which 
most  grievously  distressed  me.  From  it,  I  first  realised 
that  I  was  under  restraint,  and  in  an  ccsylum.  I  held 
my  head  between  my  hands,  and  pressed  it  against 
the  wall ;  every  pulse  came  bounding  with  double 
force  and  rapidity,  it  seemed  as  if  I  should  go  mad 
then  and  for  ever.  I  did  not  notice  those  who 
passed,  nor  spoke,  nor  interested  myself  in  the  employ- 
ments of  others.      I  was  changing. 

"  When  the  doctor  passed  through  the  ward,  I 
begged  of  him  to  take  me  from  this  place.  I  was  too 
proud  for  that  before.  He  tried  to  put  me  off.  I 
followed  him  to  the  end  of  the  hall,  and  then  with  my 
eyes  till  he  passed  out  of  sight. 

"  It  was  not  many  days  before  the  doctor  took  me 
with  him  as  he  went  his  rounds,  and  left  me  in  a 
lower  and  a  better  hall.  Then  the  scenes  with  which 
many  of  my  delusions  were  connected  were  changed. 
I  looked  no  more  at  things  around  me  through  the 
distorted  medium  of  an  assumed  character. 
yt  "  It  was  not  without  a  voluntary  effort,  and  that  a 
painful  one,  that  I  tore  myself  from  a  glorious  world 
of  my  own  creating,  and  a  throne  of  my  own  construc- 
tion, to  take  my  place  in  a  real  and  very  commonplace 
lower  planet,  full  of  ordinary  and  intractable  characters. 
For  did  I  not  leave  the  inspiring  and  elevating  society 
of  the  great  and  good  and  heroic  of  every  age,  and 
glorious  schemes  of  empire,  and  grand  ideas  of  im- 
provement, whether  commercial,  or  military,  or  literary, 
or  in  the  fine  arts  ?  Were  not  tall  monuments  and 
noble  temples  to  rise  over  this  and  every  other  land  ? 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    325 

Were  not  the  thoughts  of  genius,  expressed  as  they 
never  before  had  found  expression,  to  glow  in  fresco, 
on  canvas,  or  to  stand  forth  in  pure  dignity  in  the 
marble  statue  ?  Were  not  the  scenes  of  my  childhood's 
pleasures  to  be  made  sacred  by  its  offering  ? 

"Then  should  the  pale  scholar  and  the  inspired 
poet  no  longer  waste  unheeded  away,  but  each  in  his 
place  should  enjoy  his  fit  reward.  And  the  white 
sails  of  every  nation,  but  rather  of  mine,  should  be 
spread  to  the  breeze  in  every  sea,  bringing  back  richer 
freights  than  those  of  Solomon;  and  armies  should 
stand  ready  at  my  bidding,  innumerable,  and  com- 
prising in  their  legions  every  force  that  ever  in  truth 
or  poetry  took  the  field — the  battalions  that  contended 
with  each  other  when  there  was  war  in  heaven,  the 
veterans  of  Napoleon,  and  the  tiny  squadrons  of  fairy- 
land. But  these  I  left ;  and  as  I  descended  from  my 
throne,  reason  resumed  hers. 

"  Not  many  days  afterwards,  I  wrote  a  most  urgent 
letter  home,  as  perfectly  sane  as  ever  I  was  or  shall 
be,  requesting  to  be  removed. 

"  Day  after  day,  and  hours,  and  minutes  I  counted, 
till  I  reached  my  home — free" 

A  gentleman,  who  had  attempted  suicide  some  time 
ago,  but  whose  act  had  been  frustrated,  thus  describes 
his  own  case  : — 

"It  is,  fortunately,"  he  observes,  "for  persons  in 
my  unhappy  situation,  difficult  to  procure  the  more 
deadly  mineral  or  acid  poisons,  but  my  diseased 
thoughts  now  fixed  upon  laudanum  as  a  last  resource. 
I  had  read  the  affecting  account  of  poor  Cowper,  in 
his  efforts  at  self-destruction,  having  procured  a  half- 
ounce   phial   of  laudanum   as   a   deadly  dose,  and  I 


326  MAD  HUMANITY 

procured,  by  pennyworths  at  a  time,  in  different  shops, 
about  three-quarters  of  an  ounce,  that  the  quantity  as, 
I  thought,  might  be  effective.  But,  as  night  approached, 
and  the  terrors  of  death  and  the  judgment  stood  in 
array  before  me,  along  with  the  cruel  injury  I  was 
about  to  inflict  on  my  poor  family,  better  thoughts  got 
the  ascendency,  and  the  deadly  draught  was  thrown 
out  of  the  window,  with  a  resolution  to  banish  such  a 
fearful  purpose  for  ever  from  my  mind.  But  the 
demon  of  self-destruction  was  not  to  be  exorcised  so 
easily,  and  it  haunted  me  with  the  morbid  and  fixed 
purpose  of  moral  insanity.  I  had  been  so  distracted, 
that  for  some  days  I  had  been  unfit  to  attend  to  my 
duties  at  the  chamberlain's  office,  and  I  felt  as  if 
hurried  by  an  irresistible  impulse  and  inevitable 
necessity  to  consummate  my  terrible  purpose.  Accord- 
ingly, with  thief-like  caution,  and  '  method  in  my 
madness,'  I  procured  the  like  quantity  of  laudanum 
by  the  same  means  as  before,  and  concealed  it,  till  I 
should  go  to  bed  with  my  sleeping-draught,  and  '  sleep 
the  sleep  that  knows  no  waking.' 

"This  was  on  a  Friday.  When  I  think  of  it,  I 
cannot  account  for  the  moral  torpor  of  my  mind,  but 
by  the  conviction  that  my  brain  was  overwhelmed 
with  insanity.  Pity  for  my  poor  wife  and  children  I 
seemed  to  have  none;  and  a  sense  of  my  moral  re- 
sponsibility to  God,  as  a  free  agent,  must  have  been 
greatly  obscured  or  lost.  Greedily  I  swallowed  the 
deadly  draught,  and  lay  down  in  a  stupor  of  misery, 
never,  as  I  believed,  to  open  my  eyes  again  on  this,  to 
me,  w^orld  of  w^oe.  I  think  it  might  have  been  four 
o'clock  on  the  following  morning  that  I  awakened  to  a 
dim  consciousness  of  existence,  and  of  what  I  had  done. 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    327 

The  walls  of  my  bedroom,  as  I  sat  up,  seemed  to  be 
revolving  with  a  vertical  motion,  and  the  furniture 
and  pictures  on  the  wall  continued  spinning  round, 
till  my  eyes  grew  sore  and  my  brain  giddy  with 
watching  their  rotary  evolutions.  With  the  exception 
of  a  feeling  of  stupor  and  giddiness,  I  felt  quite  well 
and  happy ;  and  I  lay  the  whole  of  that  day  and  next 
night  in  a  soporific  and  delicious  dream,  between 
sleeping  and  waking.  (3n  the  Sunday  I  walked  with 
my  brother  in  the  fields,  was  very  talkative  and  merry, 
and  went  to  church  in  the  afternoon.  I  kept  my  own 
counsel,  however,  regarding  the  laudanum ;  and  in  the 
evening  I  drank  tea  with  my  sister  in  London  Street, 
without  exciting  any  feeling  but  surprise  and  appre- 
hension at  my  apparent  rapid  recovery  and  high 
spirits.  I  left  London  Street  alone  in  the  evening 
intending  to  visit  the  grave  of  a  dear  friend  in  the 
beautiful  cemetery  of  the  Dean  ;  but,  fortunately,  I  had 
changed  my  mind,  or  had  felt  unable  for  the  journey, 
as  I  found  myself  in  the  Meadows  when  the  sun  was 
going  down,  and  bathing  meadow,  tower,  and  tree  with 
a  flood  of  golden  light.  While  enjoying  the  soft  efful- 
gence, I  was  suddenly  struck  with  a  faintness  at  the 
heart,  and  a  violent  palpitation  commenced,  as  if  the 
wheel  at  the  cistern  was  hurrying  on  to  a  sudden 
crash.  Believing  I  was  instantly  dying,  from  the 
violent  throbbing  of  my  heart  and  brain,  it  was  with 
difficulty  that  I  reached  a  seat,  and  entreated  some 
persons  who  observed  my  distress  to  let  my  friends 
know  that  I  was  dying.  Here,  with  a  crowd  gathering 
round  me,  I  watched,  as  if  for  the  last  time,  the  sun 
descending  behind  some  trees  on  the  horizon,  and  I 
was  convinced  that  I  had  but  a  few  moments  to  live, 


328  MAD  HUMANITY 

the  thought  of  what  I  had  done  overwhelmed  me  with 
terror,  and  the  certainty  of  eternal  perdition.  Eecol- 
lecting  that  I  had  observed  some  discoloured  spots  on 
some  parts  of  my  body  in  the  morning — no  doubt  a 
healthy  effort  of  nature  to  throw  off  from  the  citadel 
of  life   the   deleterious   drusf   I   had  swallowed — the 

o 

thought  rushed  on  me  that  mortification  had  com- 
menced, and  further  confirmed  my  dread  of  speedy 
dissolution.  My  friends  at  length  came  and  took  me 
home,  the  palpitation  having  somewhat  abated ;  but 
my  dreamlike  recollections  of  the  subsequent  events 
of  that  night  and  the  following  day  are  but  the 
reminiscences  of  insanity.  Still,  as  in  my  former 
delirium,  I  was  obscurely  conscious  of  a  double  mental 
agency,  and  1  knew  every  object  and  person  around 
me ;  and,  as  there  appeared  to  be  a  good  deal  of 
whispering  and  watching  going  on,  I  thought  I  was 
the  victim  of  a  conspiracy  to  deliver  me  up  to  the 
hands  of  justice  as  a  flagrant  criminal.  How  I  passed 
the  night  I  cannot  tell,  for  I  was  unconscious  of  the 
sorrow  and  distraction  of  my  wife ;  but  all  next  day 
I  talked  and  sung  incessantly ;  and  though  I  am  no 
singer,  and  not  remarkably  gifted  with  the  powers  of 
elocution,  my  recitations  and  songs,  from  the  ample 
stores  of  my  memory,  seemed  so  touching  and  effective, 
that  I  shed  tears  of  emotion  and  joy  at  my  own 
exquisite  utterances.  The  exalted  egotism  of  the 
maniac  was  fairly  in  the  ascendant ;  but  though  ele- 
vated in  my  spirits,  I  was  somewhat  conscious,  from 
sad  experience  of  the  former  fiery  ordeal  I  had  gone 
through,  that  this  bewildering  excitement  was  a  pre- 
monitory symptom  of  aj^proaching  brain  fever,  and 
complete  mental  alienation.     I  believed  I  had  ruined 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    329 

my  character  for  ever  with  my  employer ;  but  as  I 
was  to  put  a  bold  face  on  my  infamy,  I  had  deter- 
mined to  resume  my  avocations  next  day,  and  laugh 
at  the  simplicity  of  the  chamberlain  who  kept  such  a 
rascal  in  his  employment.  Meantime  the  whispering 
and  plotting  seemed  still  to  be  going  on,  and  I  had 
resolved  to  stand  on  the  defensive,  and  keep  a  sharp 
lookout,  when  in  the  evening  I  was  solicited  by  my 
brother  and  two  other  relatives  to  accompany  them  in  a 
short  excursion  to  the  country  in  a  cab.  To  this  I 
cheerfully  acceded,  marvelling  much  where  we  were 
going,  or  what  friend  we  were  to  visit.  I  had  scarcely 
taken  my  seat,  however,  when  I  suspected,  from  their 
manner,  the  covert  purpose  of  the  drive,  and  the  truth 
dawned  upon  me  that  they  were  conveying  me  to  a 
madhouse.  But  I  felt  passive  and  resigned  to  my 
fate,  thinking  I  should  find  a  refuge  from  disgrace 
where  the  finger  of  scorn,  or  the  reproaches  of  cruelty 
or  malice  would  not  disturb  my  solitude  and  repose ; 
and  I  voluntarily  gave  up  to  my  friends  my  penknife, 
believing,  in  my  partial  gleam  of  sanity,  that  I  could 
not  safely  be  trusted  with  edged  instruments.  In  a  few 
minutes,  accordingly,  I  found  myself  an  inmate  of 
Morningside  Asylum. 

"My  own  youthful  recollections  of  a  madhouse 
were  associated  with  all  the  horrors  of  a  solitary 
cell,  cruel  coercion,  the  clanking  of  chains,  and  the 
bowlings  of  despair,  from  having  frequently,  when  a 
boy,  witnessed  such  scenes  in  Bedlam,  one  of  the 
earliest  public  institutions  of  the  kind.  Ah !  could 
I  then  have  dreamed  that  I  myself  should  one  day 
be  the  inmate  of  an  asylum,  the  terrible  conception 
would    surely    have  whirled   my   brain,  so   miserable 


330  MAD  HUMANITY 

were  the   impressions   of   what   I    had    seen    on    my 
youthful  mind. 

"  But  how  well  it  is  for  us,  that — 

'  Heaven  in  its  mercy  hides  the  book  of  fate, 
All  but  the  page  prescribed — our  present  state.' 

" '  Else,'  as  Pope  justly  adds,  '  who  could  suffer  being 
here  below  ? '  Bedlam  was  then  one  of  the  regular 
sights  of  the  place,  and  often  a  spectacle  to  gratify  the 
idle  and  unfeeling  curiosity  of  vulgar  minds,  which 
could  feel  any  gratification  in  looking  upon  this  last  of 
human  afflictions — the  temporal  wreck  of  an  immortal 
mind.  Often  have  I  accompanied  the  keepers  at 
supper- time,  when  doling  out  to  the  poor  creatures 
tlieir  portion  of  potatoes  and  salt  (but  I  rather  fear  the 
latter  condiment  was  sometimes  dispensed  with),  and  I 
can  never  forget  the  wild,  startled  look  of  many  a 
cadaverous  visage  which  the  grating  lock  and  the 
unwonted  light  roused  from  its  wretched  lair.  To 
some,  chained  amono-  straw,  like  wild  beasts,  their  food 
was  thrust  through  a  loop-hole  in  the  wall,  their  only 
window,  while  others  were  left  to  devour  their's  in  the 
dark  as  best  they  might.  The  more  harmless  or 
convalescent  patients — if  such  a  condition  as  con- 
valescence was  then  recognised  in  such  places — were 
assembled  in  the  evenings  and  portions  of  the  day  in 
a  common,  ill-ventilated  room,  under  the  charge  of  a 
keeper,  armed  with  a  terrible  thong  (the  same  with 
which  poor  Abbau  Hassan,  of  the  Arahian  Nights, 
suffered  his  flagellations),  and  a  supply  of  strait- 
jackets  for  the  unruly.  Frequent  were  the  scourgings 
with  instruments  of  torture ;  and  a  supplementary 
infliction  was  readily  found  in  a  pump  in  the  court. 


CONFESSIOXS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    331 

surrounded  by  a  box,  into  which  the  refractory- 
patients,  male  or  female,  were  thrust,  while  a  pitiless 
torrent  of  water  was  poured  for  a  long  time  on  their 
distracted  brain.  Sunday  was  a  day  of  unmitigated 
solitude.  No  voice  of  prayer  or  praise  hallowed  the 
day  of  rest ;  and  the  only  sound  that  met  the  ear  of 
the  citizen  enjoying  a  quiet  walk  in  the  fields  on  that 
blessed  day  was  the  shrill  whistle  of  some  solitary 
wretch,  or — 

'  Moody  madness  laughing  wild  amid  severest  woe.' 

"  But  I  turn  from  this  heart-saddening  spectacle,  with 
its  many  untold  tales  of  unutterable  woe,  to  the  cheer- 
ing atmosphere  of  life  and  light,  which  sheds  a  spirit 
of  hope  and  comfort  over  the  beautiful  precincts  of 
Morningside  Asylum.  Here  words  of  hope  and 
consolation  might  adorn  the  gateway,  speaking  better 
things  to  the  unfortunate  and  their  friends  in  the  day 
of  calamity  than  our  forefathers  ever  dreamed  of  in 
the  dark  days  that  are  happily  for  ever  past." 

The  patient  gives  the  following  description  of  one 
of  the  weekly  balls  at  the  asylum : — 

"  Strangers  are  always  expected,  and  every  one  very 
properly  wishes  to  appear  to  the  best  advantage,  and 
to  acquit  themselves  wdth  propriety,  in  honour  of  the 
event.  Accordingly,  at  seven  o'clock,  from  all  depart- 
ments of  the  asylum,  the  patients,  accompanied  by 
their  respective  attendants,  came  trooping  on  the  tip- 
toe of  expectation  for  the  ball-room.  On  entering  the 
spacious  and  brilliantly-lighted  hall,  I  was  never  more 
struck  and  interested  than  by  the  spectacle  that  met 
my  gaze.  Here  were  from  300  to  400  persons  of 
that  class,  who  were  formerly  considered  beyond  the 


332  MAD  HUMANITY 

pale  of  social  intercourse,  like  the  lepers  of  old — 
parialis  of  the  human  race — assembled  for  the  exhila- 
rating and  healthful  enjoyment  of  music  and  the 
dance,  and  forming  as  decorous  and  wise-like  a  festive 
party  as  could  be  found  in  all  broad  Scotland.  When 
arranged  for  the  dance — which  is  conducted  with  the 
utmost  propriety  and  politeness,  each  gentleman 
courteously  selecting  his  own  partner — the  tout  en- 
semUe  of  this  extraordinary  and  unique  spectacle  must 
astonish  and  delight  every  stranger.  First  comes  a 
Scotch  reel.  Perhaps  from  forty  to  fifty  couples  wait 
with  glistening  eye  the  starting  note,  when  off  they  go, 
with  'life  and  mettle  in  their  heels,'  making  the  walls 
of  the  stately  mansion  vibrate  to  their  vigorous  tread, 
as  if  sorrow  and  despair  had  never  followed  their 
footsteps,  or  cast  a  shadow  over  their  path.  Grotesque 
and  odd  enough  are  some  of  their  motions,  and,  as 
the  'mirth  and  fun  grow  fast  and  furious,'  to  watch 
their  rapid  evolutions,  as  I  do  with  my  mind's  eye  at 
present,  seems  like  the  phantasmagoria  of  a  wizard 
dream.  It  does  not  suggest  the  idea  of  Bedlam  broke 
loose,  but  of  Bedlam  in  ecstasy,  till  the  fiddles  give 
their  closing  scream  of  discord,  w^hen  the  whirling 
group  is  arrested,  and,  with  many  a  profound  bow,  and 
politely  leading  of  partners  to  their  seats,  the  assem- 
blage is  all  in  an  instant  quietly  seated  again,  the 
ladies  on  one  side  of  the  hall,  and  the  gentlemen 
opposite,  while  the  strangers  are  set  apart  on  the 
orchestra  side.  But  now  a  song  is  announced  by  the 
master  of  the  ceremonies,  and  anon  a  voice  is  heard 
from  among  the  group  of  patients,  chanting  very 
sweetly  Ballantyue's  pretty  nursery  song  of  Castles 
in  the  Air,  which  is  listened  to  in  eloquent  silence, 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    333 

and  rapturously  applauded  at  the  close.  I  may 
here  be  permitted  to  observe,  that  on  another  even- 
ing I  was  secretly  gratified  by  hearing  a  song  of 
my  own  sung,  the  author  being  unknown  to  all 
present,  and  congratulating  himself  on  his  obscurity. 
Quadrilles,  country  dances,  and  every  variety  of 
exercise  for  the  'liglit  fantastic  toe,'  succeed,  in  which 
the  delighted  patients  acquit  themselves  admirably; 
and  so,  alternating  with  the  song  and  the  dance,  the 
evening  passes  away,  winged  with  delight,  till  between 
nine  and  ten  o'clock,  when  the  Queen's  Anthem,  finely 
and  heartily  sung  by  the  whole  assemblage,  closes  the 
extraordinary  and  gratifying  scene." 

The  patient  then  describes  his  gradual  restoration 
to  mental  health,  and  his  gratitude  for  the  care  and 
kindness  he  received  at  the  institution. 

A  clerk,  aged  twenty-eight,  came  under  my  obser- 
vation. He  had  been  ill  for  two  months,  was  liable 
to  attacks  of  excitement,  declined  all  food,  suffered 
from  religious  morbid  ideas,  imagined  that  he  had  been 
very  wicked,  his  thoughts  w^andered  away,  he  could 
not  concentrate  his  mind  ;  the  case  was  a  very  obstmate 
one.  The  symptoms  he  entertained  latterly  before 
improving  were  those  respecting  the  unreality  of  every- 
thing ;  he  seemed  to  walk  about  as  if  in  vacancy. 
The  following  is  a  statement  of  his  case,  just  received 
by  me  on  his  recovery  after  two  years'  illness. 

"  I  will  just  write  a  few  remarks  as  to  my  feelings 
and  symptoms  which  have  taken  place  during  the  last 
two  years  or  so,  as  far  as  my  memory  will  permit  me, 
which  are  as  follows :  Being  stirred  up  by  religious 
fervour,  added  to  by  being  run  down  through  anxiety, 
doubt,  and  constant  fear,  and    over-eagerness  at  my 


334  MAD  HUMANITY 

business,  which  caused  me  great  depression,  and  at 
times  greatly  agitated  me.  I  could  not  do  anything 
right,  and  although  wanting  to  do  everything  and 
worrying  as  to  not  being  (as  I  seemed)  able  to,  it 
caused  me  to  feel  very  ill,  and  to  get  into  a  peculiar 
state,  which  developed  one  evening  into  pains  in  the 
head,  and  which  got,  as  it  were,  like  two  cords  strung 
to  such  tautness  that  any  moment  I  feared  they  would 
snap,  and  in  despair  I  thought  it  was  all  up  with 
me ;  but  a  visit  to  my  local  doctor  for  soothing  medicine 
relieved  me  for  the  time  being,  but  great  depression 
continued,  with  heavy  feelings  in  the  head,  and  each 
day  I  seemed  to  get  worse  in  myself,  and  instead 
of  looking  at  things  in  a  bright  light,  everything  was 
black  and  without  hope,  and  all  I  felt  able  to  do  was 
to  resort  to  outbursts  of  grief  and  despair ;  my  sleep  at 
night  was  very  little,  as  peculiar  pains  and  fancies 
would  disturb  my  rest,  in  fact,  I  dreaded  to  retire  to 
rest,  my  mind  being  all  at  work  with  thoughts  of 
constant  fear  as  to  myself.  I  seemed  to  turn  against 
all  food,  and  could  not  enjoy  any  repast,  in  fact,  it  was 
more  than  a  labour  to  eat  at  all,  although  trying  hard 
to  force  myself  it  proved  a  failure, — whatever  I  did 
nothing  seemed  real. 

"  Through  the  influence  of  friends  I  consulted  my 
doctor,  who  advised  a  change,  which  seemed  to  make 
me  better;  but  when  I  got  back  with  my  old  ac- 
quaintances again,  and  talking  of  my  symptoms  and 
answering  their  sympathetic  inquiries,  my  feelings 
would  all  return,  and  my  thoughts  were  always  of 
myself.  I  returned  to  business,  but  want  of  will- 
power would  still  deny  me  from  turning  my  thoughts 
or  my  feelings  to  anything  else.     I  did  not  appear  to 


CONFESSIONS  OF  THE  INSANE  AFTER  RECOVERY    335 

be  able  to  leave  anything  to  the  next  day,  as  I  had  no 
hope  of  the  future.  I  still  continued  to  have  short 
and  restless  nights  ;  after  an  hour's  sleep  or  so  I  would 
wake  and  could  not  get  to  sleep  again,  and  tlie  pains 
in  my  head,  which  seemed  to  be  like  a  sheet  of  ice, 
caused  me  worry.  I  dreaded  meeting  any  friends  in 
case  they  would  ask  me  how  I  was ;  conscience  being 
overstrained  would  not  permit  me  to  say  I  was  all  right 
as  advised.  The  depression  still  kept  with  me,  and 
thoughts  of  ending  it  often  occurred,  especially  when 
opportunities  arose,  but  want  of  will  and  thoughts  of 
the  great  sin,  I  am  now  thankful  to  realise  and 
say,  prevented  any  suicidal  tendencies  from  being 
fulfilled.  My  nights  were  worse  than  the  days  with 
quietness  and  solitude ;  I  longed  for  the  mornings. 
My  habits  all  seemed  irregular,  and  peculiar  feelings 
in  my  body  worried  me  considerably,  in  fact,  I  could 
not  realise  I  was  the  same  human  being  as  formerly, 
or  that  I  should  ever  be  again  as  before;  but  I  am 
thankful  to  say,  through  treatment,  my  nights  became 
better,  and  although  my  dreams  were  frequent,  I 
could  sleep  longer;  but  nevertheless  the  memory  of 
the  dreams  would  keep  by  me,  and  my  memory 
seemed  ever  ready  to  be  able  to  tell  them  for  days. 
This  went  on  for  some  time  and  the  peculiar  sensations 
of  the  body  continued,  but  of  a  weaker  and  not  lasting 
kind  as  formerly.  I  did  not  seem  to  get  any 
pleasure  in  anything ;  nothing  was  natural.  Although 
able  to  converse  and  enjoy,  as  it  were,  society  w^hile  it 
was  on,  yet  after  I  could  not  get  the  pleasure  of  the 
enjoyment  to  keep  with  me  when  alone,  and  everything 
went  from  me,  leaving  nothing  but  myself  to  be 
thought  about  and  my  different  feelings.     For  a  long 


336  MAD  HUMANITY 

time  I  could  not  realise  any  change  for  the  better,  but 
repeated  assurances  by  some  were  given. 

"  The  first  time  I  could  persuade  myself  that  I  was 
getting  better  was  when  on  my  last  holiday  at  Scarboro'. 
With  the  delightful  scenery  and  bracing  air,  I  seemed  to 
get,  by  its  influence,  into  my  regular  habits  ;  sensations 
got  much  weaker,  my  sleep  was  better,  and  I  would 
rise  in  the  morning  feeling  very  fresh,  and  more  or  less 
invigorated,  and  I  returned  home  greatly  improved  in 
health  and  spirits.  I  still  continued  my  attendances 
with  my  doctor,  and  from  that  time  continued  to  be 
more  cheerful,  and,  although  peculiar  feelings  and 
sensations  remain  slightly  with  me,  have  now  a  great 
hope  of  getting  myself  again. 

"  My  dreams  are  not  of  so  violent  a  nature ;  and, 
although  not  a  night  passes  without  them,  they  leave 
me,  as  it  were,  upon  my  getting  out  in  the  morning.  I 
can  now  feel  more  settled,  and  am  able  to  do  my  work 
to  my  satisfaction,  to  enjoy  it,  and  to  feel  more  confi- 
dence in  the  same,  in  the  way  of  being  able  to  look  ahead 
to  the  future;  I  am  more  able  to  throw  off  anything 
of  a  depressing  nature,  and  enjoy,  as  it  were,  what  I 
take  on  to  do,  and  my  will-power  seems  much  stronger ; 
in  fact,  I  doubt  not  but  that,  in  time,  the  past  two  years 
will  sink  into  oblivion ;  as  I  feel  now  I  can  realise 
what  absurdity  it  was  to  ever  get  so  ill  and  upset.  I 
cannot  close  these  few  remarks  without  adding  my 
testimony  and  thankfulness  to  the  patience  and  kindly 
feelings  and  actions  of  my  dear  wife  and  doctor  during 
this  trying  time,  when  I  felt  a  curse  to  myself  and  all 
around  me." 


CHAPTEE    XII 

MADNESS    OF    GENIUS 

Genius  is  considered  by  maiiy  authorities  as  a  morbid 
affection  of  the  nervous  system  and  a  natural  neurosis. 
Professor  Lombroso  of  Turin,  the  greatest  authority  on 
this  subject,  is  of  this  opinion,  and  in  his  published 
works  he  gives  evidence  in  proof  of  this.      By  the  word 
"neurosis"  I  mean  a  special  condition  of  the  brain 
corresponding   to   that   disposition  of  the  intellectual 
power   that    is    termed   "genius."       In    other   words, 
genius,  like  every  other  disposition  of  the  intellectual 
dynamism,  has    necessarily   its    material    substratum. 
This  substratum  is  a  semi-morbid  state  of  the  brain,  a 
true  nervous  erethism,  the  source  of  which  is,  however, 
well  known.     Plato,  in  his  two-fold  paradox  enunciated 
by  him,  states  that  "madness   is  of  greater  nobility 
than  sanity ;  and  that  a  distempered  mind,  so  far  from 
being  an  unmitigated  evil,  is,  in  fact,  a  notable  blessing." 
Cicero,  in  his  Treatise  on  Divination,  says :  "  As  men's 
minds  were  often  seen  to  be  excited  in  two  manners, 
without  any  rules  of  reason  or  science,  by  their  own 
uncontrollable  and  free  motion,  being  sometimes  under 
the  influence  of  frenzy,  and   at   others  under  tliat  of 
dreams." 

z 


338  MAD  HUMANITY 

Genius  is  often  a  fatal  gift,  like  beauty,  and,  as  is 
so  often  seen,  it  is  seldom  combined  with  common 
sense.  4  The  irritability  of  genius,  whicli  is  so  common, 
is  the  fij^fcjiak  in  that  chain  of  psychical  maladies  so 
often  terminating  in  hypochondriasis,  when  melancholy 
marks  the  martyr  of  thought  and  genius  as  its  own. 

»  Many  geniuses  are  developed  in  infancy,  and  fre- 
quently the  so-called  prodigy,  who  does  not  ultimately 
become  a  genius,  will  stop  half-way,  becoming  insane. 
Insanity  is  a  half-way  house,  and  the  precocious  youth 
having  well  passed  its  confines,  will  in  all  probability 
develop  into  a  genius ;  but,  alas  !  many  fail  to  pass 
this  barrier,  and  consequently  our  institutions  are  full 
of  brilliant  intellects  cut  short  in  the  precocity  of  their 
youth. 

The  insanity  of  genius  is  a  psychological  problem, 
and  comes  before  us  with  the  most  awful  contrasts 
respecting  life  and  death.  Illusion  is  a  pronounced 
characteristic  of  genius,  and  this  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  when  we  consider  that  the  workings  of  the  im- 
aginative mind  are  one  protracted  course  of  ideal 
creation. 

There  is  a  great  relationship  between  insanity  and 
genius.  It  is  a  most  difficult  thing  to  define  the  line 
that  separates  the  sane  from  the  insane,  the  babbling, 
drivelling  idiot  from  the  man  of  transcendent  genius. 
Such  a  line  of  demarcation  is  not  easy  to  fix ;  on  the 
one  side  a  high-wrought  and  gifted  mind,  and  on  the 
other  an  intellect  distracted  and  tainted. 
*•  Another  difficult  thins:  is  to  draw  the  distinction 
between  the  creations  of  genius  and  the  wanderings  of 
insanity.  ^  Excessive  expansion  of  brain-matter,  great 
sensibility,    acute    sensitiveness,    quickness    of    appre- 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  339 

hension,  and  vividness  of  imagination  are  all  indica- 
tions of  a  state  of  brain  bordering  closely  on  the 
confines  of  disease.  In  the  majority  of  studious  men 
there  often  exists  a  predisposition  to  brain  disease 
which  may  have  actually  existed.  This  is  manifested 
in  many  ways. 

There  is  a  romantic  history  and  fascination  attend- 
ing the  consideration  of  mad  poets,  that  I  propose  to 
deal  with  the  subject  in  the  first  instance.  I  will 
give  the  list  of  the  various  poets  who  became  insane, 
that  have  come  to  my  knowledge,  chronologically. 

Mania  with  Delusions  (Torquato  Tasso,  1544). — 
Suffered  from  mania  peiiodiqice,  and  was  the  victim 
of  the  literary  envy  of  the  sovereign.  He  suffered 
from  auricular  delusions,  and  phantasmagoria.  He 
would  converse  eloquently  with  his  imaginary  familiar 
spirit,  who,  according  to  his  statement,  paid  him 
various  visits.>^  It  is  a  very  dangerous  thing  to  indulge 
to  any  extent  in  phantasy,  as  the  impression  becomes 
permanent,  and  what  was  imaginative  may  become 
real.  Abnormal  circulation  of  the  brain  is  the  sup- 
posed cause  of  these  states  of  phantasmagoria,  which 
we     read     of    as     occurring     in     so     many    poetical 

liuses. 

Mania  and  Dipsomania  (Nathaniel  Lee,  1657). — 
He  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  in  the  streets  of 
London,  in  a  night's  carousal.  He  suffered  from 
various  attacks  of  recurrent  insanity  which  necessitated 
his  periodical  detention.  He  was  a  dramatist  of  the 
highest  order.  The  following  stage  direction  will  show 
what  his  mental  condition  was,  especially  towards  the 
close  of  his  career :  "  The  scene  draws,  and  discovers 
a  heaven  of  blood,  two  suns,  spirits  in  battle,  arrows 


340  MAD  HUMANITY 

shot  to  and  fro  in  the  air,  cries  of  yielding   persons, 
cries  of  '  Carthage  is  fallen.'  " 

Whilst  confined  in  Old  Bedlam,  we  are  told  that  a 
cloud  passed  over  the  moon,  by  the  light  of  which  he 
was  writing  the  scene  of  a  play,  when  he  cried  out, 
"  Jove,  snuff  the  moon."  With  all  this  he  seems  to 
have  well  remembered  the  living  pictures  around  him, 
for  in  his  Ccesar  Borgia  is  his  faithful  description  of 
madness : — 

"  Like  a  poor  lunatic  that  makes  his  moan, 
And  for  a  wliile  beguiles  his  lookers  on, 
His  eyes  their  wildness  lose, 
^i^U.       He  vows  the  keepers  his  wrong'd  sense  abuse  : 
1^^  But  if  you  hit  the  cause  that  hurts  his  brain, 
Then  his  teeth  gnash,  he  foams,  he  shakes  his  chain, 
His  eyeballs  roll,  and  he  is  mad  again." 

Mania,  Organic  Disease  of  the  Brain  (Jonathan 
Swift,  1667). — His  understanding  was  much  im- 
paired, and  his  memory  failed  him  to  such  an  extent 
that  he  was  incapable  of  conversing,  and  his  condition 
became  one  of  absolute  lunacy.  His  Voyage  to  Lilipnt 
is  still  read  by  children,  which  proves  the  triumph  of 
the  genius  in  his  works  living  after  him. 

Moral  Insanity  (Eichard  Savage,  1698). — He  made 
his  cUhut  as  an  actor  originally,  but  gradually  sank  into 
the  depths  of  misery  and  despair. 

Scrofula  and  Melancholia  (Samuel  Johnson,  1709). 
— As  a  child  he  was  afflicted  with  the  king's  evil, 
disfiguring  his  face,  and  impairing  his  eyesight.  He 
published  many  works  and  pamphlets,  The  Life  of 
Savage,  and  in  1747  his  English  Dictionary.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  his  system  was  afflicted  with  a  strumous 
taint ;  and,  indeed,  when  a   child   he   was    carried  to 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  341 

Queen  Anne  at  Kensington  to  be  touched  lor  the  evil. 
He  suffered  from  melancholia,  and  was  constantly  in 
terror,  as  he  looked  into  futurity  through  the  jaundiced 
medium  of  his  malady.  He  used  to  say  that  he  "  in- 
herited a  violent  melancholy  from  his  father,  which 
made  him  mad  all  his  life ;  at  least  not  sober."  He 
always  dreaded  death,  the  thought  being  ever  on  his 
lips,  "  to  die  and  go  we  know  not  where  "  ;  but  when 
his  system  sank  under  disease,  his  terror  of  futurity 
waned  and  he  died  resigned.  K  Johnson  had  himself  to 
thank  for  much  of  his  hypochondriac  condition ;  he 
was  a  ravenous  eater,  and  his  digestion  was  never 
under  his  consideration. 

Moral  Insanity  (Jean  Jacques  Eousseau,  1712). — 
The  great  French  poet,  whose  spirit,  so  to  speak, 
haunts  the  shores  of  Lake  Leman,  was  a  typical  ex- 
ample of  genius  and  insanity.  When  a  boy  he  was 
apprenticed  to  his  father,  who  was  a  watchmaker,  but 
lie  did  not  pursue  this  trade,  and  even  whilst  there 
occupied  his  time  in  reading  sentimental  novels,  prob- 
ably of  the  French  School.  It  was  undecided  for  a 
long  time  whether  he  should  be  brought  up  as  a 
watchmaker,  a  lawyer,  or  a  clergyman.  He  was 
apprenticed,  however,  to  a  lawyer,  and  was  discharged 
for  stupidity  and  incompetency.  We  next  find  him 
under  the  tuition  of  a  coarse  and  tyrannical  engraver, 
whose  locks  he  picked,  and  whose  property  he  stole, 
and  from  whose  business  •  he  ran  away.  ♦  He  was 
always  living  in  worlds  of  his  own  creation,  and  pre- 
ferred communications  with  the  phantoms  he  conjured 
up  rather  than  with  real  people.  -IHe  was  always 
holding  colloquies  with  imaginary  women,  in  fact,  he 
lived  in  an  ideal  world  of  his  own.     There  seemed  to 


342  MAD  HUMANITY 

be  a  question  whether  he  died  a  natural  death,  or 
whether  he  committed  suicide. 

Meldncholia  (William  Collins,  1720). — He  was  a 
student  at  Queen's  College,  and  whilst  there  was  dis- 
tinguished for  "  genius  and  indolence."  Whatever 
work  he  could  be  induced  to  do  while  at  college,  it 
was  distinguished  by  evident  marks  of  both  these 
qualities.  He  was  not  a  voluminous  writer,  but  he 
has  laid  his  claim  to  fame  in  the  Ode  to  the 
Passions  and  similar  pieces. 

Melancholia  (Christopher  Smart,  1722). — He  was 
confined  in  an  asylum,  and  on  the  wainscot  of  his  cell 
he  wrote  with  a  key  the  following  sonnet : — 


^M  SONG  OF  DAVID 

"  He  sang  of  God,  the  mighty  Source 
Of  all  things,  the  stupendous  Force 
On  which  all  strength  depends  ; 
From  whose  right  arm,  beneath  whose  eye 
All  period,  power,  and  enterprise 
Commences,  reigns,  and  ends. 
The  world,  the  clustering  spheres  He  made. 
The  glorious  light,  the  soothing  shade, 
Dale,  campaign,  grove,  and  hill, 
The  multitudinous  abyss. 
Where  Secrecy  remains  in  bliss, 
And  Wisdom  hides  her  skill. 
'  Tell  them  I  AM,'  Jehovah  said 
To  Moses  ;  whilst  earth  heard  in  dread. 
And  smitten  to  the  heart, 
And  once  above,  beneath,  around. 
All  Nature,  without  voice  or  sound, 
Replied,  '  0  Lord,  Thou  art ! '  " 

Religious  Melancholia  (William  Cowper,  1731). — 
He  was  confined  in  an  asylum  for  eighteen  months. 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  343 

Canon  Farrar  has  stated  that  "  Cowper's  disease  was 
due  to  the  pitiless  anathemas  of  man,  which  he  after- 
wards attributed  to  God,  but  it  is  certain  that  his 
malady  originated,  and  that  he  had  made  three 
attempts  to  commit  suicide  before  he  became  in 
earnest  about  salvation."  Many  of  his  hymns  and 
many  of  his  minor  pieces  were  composed  when  he  was 
prostrated  by  dejection.  His  malady  increased,  and 
his  mind  gave  way,  and  he  attempted  to  destroy  his 
life  "  as  a  sacrifice  for  his  own  enormous  guilt." 
His  illness  lasted  for  two  years,  though  he  continued 
to  work  after  his  discharge  from  the  asylum.  He  never 
completely  recovered  his  mental  coudition,  though  he 
revived  his  translation  of  Homer,  and  wrote  his  last 
words.  The  Castaway,  affirming  that  he  was  still 
plunged  in  the  utmost  misery. 

Senile  Dementia  arid  Paralysis  (Dr.  Beattie,  1735). 
- — His  illness  was  caused  by  the  death  of  his  eldest 
and  favourite  son.  This  trouble,  falling  on  his 
shattered  constitution,  completely  unhinged  his  mind. 
On  gazing  on  the  corpse  of  his  son  he  ejaculated,  "  It 
is  well  that  I  have  no  child,  I  have  now  done  with 
the  world."  This  was  true,  and  he  passed  into  a  state 
of  dementia  followed  by  paralysis,  which  terminated  in 
death.  He  was  a  most  brilliant  poet,  and  his  chief  work. 
The  Minstrel,  forcibly  speaks  as  to  his  great  ability. 

Moral  Insanity  (Vittoria  Alfieri,  1749).  —  He 
carried  on  various  intrigues,  and  attempted  suicide. 
He  was  a  victim  to  constitutional  taint  and  pernicious 
training,  with  gross  proclivities. 

Religious  Melancholia  (Eobert  Ferguson,  1750). — 
His  attack  was  brought  on  by  intemperance.  He 
died  in  an  asylum  in  a  pitiful  condition. 


344  MAD  HUMANITY 

Monomania  and  Suicide  (Thomas  Chatterton, 
1752). — He  had  ideas  ofexaggeratijQii,  and  in  a  letter 
to  his  family  he  wrote  :  "  My  company  is  courted 
everywhere,  and  could  I  have  humbled  myself  to  go 
into  a  comptoir,  I  could  have  had  twenty  places  before 
now;  but  I  must  be  among  the  great,  and  State 
matters  suit  me  better  than  commercial."  :*'  Between 
his  twelfth  and  sixteenth  years  he  had  written  a  large 
number  of  poems.  He  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen. 
His  towering  pride,  which  he  designates  ''my  pride, 
my    damned,    native,    uncontrollable     pride,     which 


I  plunges  me  into  distraction,"  was  his  fall  from  the  pin- 
inacle  of  fame,  which  he  had  mounted  at  a  very  early 
period,  and  his  career  terminated  hj^  a  dose  of  arsenic. 

Dipsomania  (Freidrich  Schiller,  1759,  great 
German  poet). — As  a  boy  he  was  docile  and  intelli- 
gent, and  originally  intended  for  the  Church.  He 
ultimately  joined  the  Medical  Service  of  the  Army. 
Of  himself  he  writes :  "  My  mind  is  drawn  different 
ways  ,^I  fall  headlong  out  of  my  ideal  world/'  As 
his  faculties  and  his  prospects  expanded,  discontent 
arose.  His  medical  project,  like  many  others  which 
he  formed,  never  came  to  an  issue.  *  Love  made 
Schiller  mad.  During  the  whole  of  his  life  he 
suffered  from  consumption,  aggravated  by  angina 
pectoris,  and  during  an  attack  of  which  he  died, 
exclaiming :  ''  Calmer  and  calmer,  many  things  are 
growing  plain  and  clear  to  me." 

Dipsomania  Melancholia  (Robert  Burns,  1759). — 
He  was  very  irritable,  and  notwithstanding  his 
success,  his  existence  was  a  penalty.  He  was  a 
dipsomaniac,  and  his  leisure  moments  were  devoted  to 
Bacchus  and  Venus.  He  was  an  hypochondriac,  and  him- 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  345 

self  said  that  his  constitution  was  blasted  ah  origine  by 
"  incurable  melancholy."  He  possessed  an  hypothesis 
of  morality  and  even  virtue,  which  v^ere  evinced  in 
his  writings,  but  the  madness  of  passion,  that  physical 
love,  overcame  his  better  instincts.  Without  this 
unholy  passion,  Burns  would  have  been  a  happier 
and  better  man,  but  probably  the  world  would  have 
been  shorn  of  the  wild  poesy  of  his  sentiments.  The 
amorous  eulogies  of  Marys,  Janes,  and  ISTancys  would" 
never  have  been  written ;  but  his  life  would  not  have 
ended  amidst  the  regrets  of  the  libertine,  and  the 
delirium  tremens  of  the  drinker. 

Senile  Dementia  (Charles  Kogers,  1763)  chiefly 
characterised  by  loss  of  memory. 

Monomania  with  Partial  Dementia  (Kobert  Bloom- 
field,  1766). — This  poet  was  generally  known  as  "the 
farmer's  boy."  This  was  the  title  of  his  first  poem, 
and  he  became  a  mental  wreck.  ><  He  was  quiet  and 
harmless,  his  delusions  being  the  product  of  his  original 
fancy,  resembling  more  clairvoyance  than  mere 
imagination.  These  visions  appeared  to  him  as 
identifications  of  every  striking  scene  which  he  had 
made  familiar. 

Dementia  (Sir  Walter  Scott,   1771). — The  genius 

of  Sir  Walter  Scott  ended  in   a   state   of  imbecility. 

•'^^He  first  became  conscious  of  his  condition  by  a  partial 

loss  of  memory  and  want  of  recognition  even  of  his 

own  sonnets. 

The  first  suspicion  of  the  failing  mental  power  of 
Sir  Walter  Scott  was  manifested  by  his  complete 
forgetfulness  and  want  of  recognition  of  one  of  his  own 
songs  at  Lord  EUesmere's  house,  his  memory  at  this 
time  having  completely  failed  him. 


346  MAD  HUMANITY 

In  glancing  at  Scott's  later  works,  the  psychologist 
may  form  a  shrewd  guess  at  the  progress  of  that 
flaccid  degeneration  of  tubular  neurine  which  probably 
began  with  his  reverses,  and  kept  pace  with  his  wondrous 
toil  to  liquidate  his  debts,  and  ended  in  imbecility.  ^  It 
is  piteous  to  read  of  the  last  days  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
His  mind,  though  hopelessly  obscured,  appeared,  when 
there  was  any  symptom  of  consciousness,  to  be  dwell- 
ing on  serious  and  solemn  things,  whilst  now  and  then 
he  imagined  himself  to  be  administering  justice  as  a 
sheriff,  i  His  mind  kept  wandering  from  one  subject 
to  another.  At  one  time  he  was  quoting  extracts 
from  the  Scriptures,  at  other  times  discussing  other 
subjects,  and  then  hopelessly  mingling  them  together. 
One  who  was  present  with  him  shortly  prior  to  his 
death,  describes  his  visit  to  the  house  and  a  drive 
with  Sir  Walter  Scott  as  follows : — 

"  The  river  being  in  a  flood,  we  had  to  go  round 
a  few  miles  by  Melrose  Bridge.  After  passing  the 
bridge,  the  road  for  a  couple  of  miles  lies  east  of 
Abbotsford.  Sir  Walter  Scott  relapsed  into  his  stupor, 
but  on  gaining  the  banks  immediately  above  it  his 
excitement  became  again  ungovernable."^  Then  came 
calm,  comparative  lucidness,  and  then  silence  in  the 
sleep  that  knows  no  awakening. 

The  post-mortem  examination  of  his  brain  revealed 
the  fact  that  there  was  slight  turgidity  of  the  vessels 
on  the  surface  of  the  brain,  and  the  cineritious  sub- 
stance was  found  of  darker  hue  than  natural.  There 
was  a  greater  quantity  than  usual  of  serum  in  the 
ventricles,  there  were  several  small  hydatids  found  in 
the  choroid  plexus  in  the  left  hemisphere,  and  there 
^  Lockhart's  Life  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  347 

was  distinct  ramollisemeiit  of  the  corpus  stratum  of 
the  same  side.  The  brain  was  not  large,  and  the 
cranium  was  thinner  than  it  is  usually  found  to  be. 

As  there  may  be  possibly  some  who  might  deny  my 
statements,  so  far  as  Sir  Walter  Scott  is  concerned,  I 
have  decided  to  give  the  post-mortem  appearances  of 
his  brain,  as  conclusive  proofs  of  the  correctness  of  my 
assertions. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  more  touching  pyschological 
history  than  that  which  describes,  in  detail,  the 
phenomena  of  the  mental  decadence  and  bodily 
decline,  amid  which  the  hand  of  the  mighty  Magician 
of  the  North,  "  who  rolled  back  the  current  of  time," 
drooped  at  last  into  hopeless  paralysis.  In  this  mourn- 
ful history,  which,  as  detailed  by  Lockhart,  we  can 
never  peruse  without  some  feelings  of  emotion,  there  is 
chronicled  the  special  physiology  and  pathology  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  overworked  mind.  It  is  the  history  of 
a  case — too  common,  alas  ! — not  to  be  neglected  by 
those  who  now  mount  as  upon  the  wings  of  eagles. 

At  a  time  when  pecuniary  difficulties  added  to  his 
mental  labours,  Sir  Walter  Scott  had  to  tug  at  the 
literary  oar,  and  he  paid  the  first  penalty  of  his  un- 
paralleled toils  on  the  15th  of  February  1830,  when 
he  had  a  slight  apoplectic  attack,  more  than  two  years 
and  a  half  before  his  death. 

Sir  Walter  Scott's  father  and  elder  brother  died 
of  paralysis,  so  there  was  distinct  hereditary  tendency 
to  nervous  disease ;  and  when  we  consider  the  great 
agitation  and  tribulations  to  which  he  had  been  sub- 
jected during  the  four  preceding  years,  the  only  wonder 
is  that  the  blow  was  deferred  so  long.  He  was  not 
without  sufficient   notice,  but  his   persistent  literary 


348  MAD  HUMANITY 


labours  were  too  strong  for  him  ;  and  after  so  distinct  a 
warning  of  the  state  of  the  material  organ,  he  still 
worked  as  industriously  as  ever. 

During;  the  followincj  winter  his  state  of  mind  was 
distressingly  shown  to  his  amanuensis,  and  a  more 
difficult  and  delicate  task  never  devolved  upon  any 
man's  friend  than  that  which  at  this  time  he  had  to 
encounter.  He  could  not  watch  Scott  from  hour  to 
hour,  or  write  at  his  dictation,  without  gradually, 
slowdy,  most  reluctantly,  becoming  aware  of  the  fact 
that  that  mighty  hand,  which  he  had  Avorshipped  for 
more  than  thirty  years  of  intimacy,  had  lost  something, 
and  was  daily  losing  something  more  of  its  energy. 
►The  faculties  w^ere  there,  and  each  of  them  was  every 
now  and  then  displaying  itself  in  full  vigour ;  but  the 
sagacious  judgment,  the  brilliant  fancy,  the  unrivalled 
memory  were  all  subject  to  occasional  eclipse.  Ever 
and  anon  he  paused  and  looked  round  him,  like  one 
half  waking  from  a  dream  mocked  with  shadows. 
The  sad  bewilderment  of  his  gaze  sliowed  a  momentary 
consciousness  that,  like  Samson  in  the  lap  of  the 
Philistine,  his  strength  was  passing  from  him,  and  he 
was  becoming  w^eak  like  unto  other  men. 

Then  came  the  strong  effort  of  aroused  will — the 
clouds  dispersed  as  before  a  purer  air,  all  was  bright 
and  serene  as  of  old,  and  then  it  closed  again  in  yet 
deeper  darkness. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  was  no  wonder  that 
his  medical  advisers  assured  him  repeatedly  and 
emphatically  that  if  he  persisted  in  working  his  brain, 
nothing  could  prevent  his  malady  from  recurring  with 
redoubled  severity.  His  answer  was  :  "  As  for  bidding 
me  not  work,  Molly  might  as  well  put  the  kettle  on 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  349 

the  fire  and  say :  '  Now,  don't  boil'      I  foresee  dis- 
tinctly that  if  I  were  to  be  idle  I  should  go  mad." 

The  fate  of  Swift  and  Marlborough  was  also  before 
his  eyes,  and  in  his  journal  there  is  an  entry  expressive 
of  the  fear  lest  the  anticipated  blow  should  not  destroy 
life,  and  that  he  might  linger  on  a  driveller  and  a 
show. 

"  I  do  not  think  my  head  is  weakened,"  he  writes, 
"yet  a  strange  vacillation  makes  me  suspect.  Is  it 
not  thus  that  men  begin  to  fail — becoming,  as  it  were, 
infirm  of  purpose  ?  " 

And  when,  at  the  Court-House  of  Jedburgh,  he 
faced  the  rabble  populace  and  braved  their  hootiugs, 
the  same  idea  of  impending  calamity  was  still  present 
to  his  mind,  as  he  greeted  them,  on  turning  away  Tin 
tFe "  worHs'of  the  doomed  gladiator,  "  Moriturus  vos 
saluto." 

"As  the  plough  neared  the  furrow,"  to  use  Scott's  , 
own  expressive  phrase,  he  was  still  urged  on  by  his  ! 
fixed  habits  of  labour.  Under  the  full  consciousness 
that  he  had  sustained  three  or  four  strokes  of  apoplexy, 
or  palsy,  or  both  combined,  and  tortured  by  various  . 
attendant  ailments — cramp,  rheumatism  in  half  his  \ 
joints,  and  daily  increase  of  lameness — he  retained  all  \ 
the  energy  of  his  will,  and  struggled  manfully  against  j 
this  sea  of  troubles.  Perhaps  there  is  nothing  more  l 
remarkable  with  literary  men  than  this  enchantment  '- 
with  labour. 

Monomania,  Opiophagism  (Samuel  Taylor  Cole- 
ridge, 17*72). — This  talented  poet,  the  author  of  Aids 
to  Befledion,  philosopher,  conversationalist,  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  competitors  for  literary  eminence, 
became  addicted  to  opium  eating.     Many  of  his  most 


350  MAD  HUMANITY 

exquisite  fragments  were  written  whilst  under  the 
influence  of  a  narcotic.  The  author  of  The  Ancient 
Mariner  possessed,  from  his  family  predisposition,  an 
abundant  etiology  of  an  originally  morbidly-constituted, 
and  ill-balanced  mind.*^  When  a  child  he  was  feeble, 
erratic,  and  lived  in  the  dreamlands  of  his  own  creation. 
He  first  became  a  Unitarian  preacher,  having  previously 
enlisted  as  a  dragoon.  ^  He  was  sensitive,  and  capable 
of  continuous  and  useful  application,  and  ultimately 
to  subdue  his  perturbed  spirit  he  became  addicted  to 
the  habitual  indulgence  in  drugs.  It  is  diflicult  to 
say  how  much  of  his  life  was  spent  in  the  day-visions 
of  his  fancy,  or  how  much  poetry  was  written  whilst 
under  his  monomania. 

Softening  of  the  Brain  (Eobert  Sou  they,  1774). — 
This  was  gradually  progressive.  KWhen  his  illness 
commenced,  and  his  want  of  aptitude  forsook  him, 
with  a  melancholy  smile  flitting  over  his  countenance, 
he  would  exclaim,  "  Memory,  memory,  where  art  thou 
gone  ? "  His  disease  increased,  and  he  became  a  mere 
automaton,  and  the  materials  of  his  former  labours  of 
love  were  lost  to  him  ;  his  intellect  a  blank.  His  good- 
ness of  heart,  however,  remained. 

Folie  circulaire  (Charles  Lamb,  1775). — He  in- 
herited the  malady.  His  mental  condition  was  sup- 
posed to  be  due  to  his  sister's  mad  act,  who  plunged  a 
knife  into  her  mother's  bosom  and  killed  her.  The 
sister  was  insane  at  the  time.  He  was  confined  in  an 
asylum  at  Hoxton. 

In  a  letter  to  Coleridge  he  wrote  as  follows :  "  My 
life  has  been  somewhat  diversified  of  late.  The  six 
wrecks  that  finished  last  year  and  began  this,  your 
very  humble   servant  spent  very  agreeably  in  a  mad- 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  351 

house  at  Hoxton.  I  have  got  somewhat  rational  now, 
and  don't  bite  any  one.  But  mad  I  was  !  And  many 
a  vagary  my  imagination  played  with  me,  enough  to 
make  a  volume  if  all  were  told.  My  sonnets  I  have 
extended  to  the  number  of  nine  since  I  saw  you,  and 
will  some  day  communicate  to  you.  I  am  beginning 
a  poem  in  blank  verse,  which  if  I  finish  I  publish  .  .  . 
Tlie  sonnet  I  send  you  has  small  merit  as  poetry ;  but 
you  will  be  curious  to  read  it  when  I  tell  you  it  was 
written  in  my  prison-house  in  one  of  my  lucid  in- 
tervals. 

'TO  MY  SISTER 

•  If  from  my  lips  some  angry  accents  fell, 
Peevish  complaint,  or  harsh  reproof  unkind, 
'Twas  but  the  error  of  a  sickly  mind 
And  troubled  thoughts,  clouding  the  purer  well, 
And  waters  clear,  of  Reason  ;  and  for  me 
Let  this  my  verse  the  poor  atonement  be — 
My  verse,  which  thou  to  praise  wert  e'er  inclined 
Too  highly,  and  with  a  partial  eye  to  see 
No  blemish.     Thou  to  me  didst  ever  show 
Kindest  affection  ;  and  wouldst  oft-times  lend 
An  ear  to  the  desponding,  love-sick  lay, 
Weeping  my  sorrows  with  me,  who  repay 
But  ill  the  mighty  debt  of  love  I  owe, 
Mary,  to  thee,  my  sister  and  my  friend.' " 

Paroxysmal  MelancJiolia  (Charles  Lloyd,  1780). — 
He  was  morbidly  suspicious  of  everybody.  Delusions 
of  a  most'  meTanchoiy  kind  came  to  him  in  his 
latter  days,  and  yet  his  reasoning  powers  remained 
intact. 

MelancJiolia  and  Eccentricity  (James  Gates  Percival, 
1795). — He  had  great  talent,  but  no  consistency  of 
purpose.       He    mastered    all    sciences     and    subjects 


352  MAD  HUMANITY 

but  achieved  nothing.  He  deceived  himself,  and  even 
others,  into  the  conviction  that  he  was  of  transcending 
nature.  He  was  a  good  type  of  an  eccentric  genius, 
but  he  was  of  a  feeble,  nervous  frame,  and  died  of 
general  decay. 

Paralysis  and  Epilepsy  (Lord  Byron,  1788). — Byron 
was  a  child  with  a  sullenly  passionate  teniper.  The 
irregular  action  of  his  nervous  system,  and  the 
peculiarity  of  his  temper,  were  inherited  from  his 
parents.  >His  parental  ancestors  were  remarkable  for 
their  eccentricities,  irregular  passions,  and  daring  reck- 
lessness. "sC  His  mother  was  liable  to  outbursts  of 
ungovernable  temper  and  feeling.  With  such  a 
parentage  and  so  constituted,  it  is  not  remarkable  that 
Byron  fell  so  early.  His  last  moments,  as  depicted 
by  Moore,  must  produce  a  feeling  of  melancholy. 
Madden  described  Byron's  malady  to  be  epilepsy,  and 
he  had  doubtless  many  signs  of  cerebro-spinal  disorder, 
as  indicated  by  his  frequent  twitchings  and  strong 
emotion.  'f^It  is  on  record  that  he  awoke  every  morn- 
ing with  a  feeling  of  melancholy,  despondency,  and 
actual  despair.  Byron  was  ^e£:i^iceptible  in  con- 
sequence of  his  personal  deformity,  his  club  foot. 
When  but  a  child  he  overheard  some  one  say, "  Do  you 
think  I  can  love  that  lame  boy  ? "  and  he  ran  away  in 
a  passion.  In  addition  to  his  epilepsy  he  had  many 
signs  of  cerebro-spinal  disorder,  such  as  twitchings, 
globus,  and  strong  emotions.  He  had  himself  some 
idea  of  his  own  infirmity,  as  he  says  that  he  was 
"  cradled  in  convulsions "  and  "  subject  to  a  kind  of 
hysterical  merriment."  He  was  a  constitutional  dis- 
content. Tlie  Bride  of  Ahydos,  was  composed  "  to 
keep  him  from  going  mad,  l3y  eating  his  own  heart.^' 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  353 

And  again  he  says,  "  I  feel  a  disrelish  more  powerful 
than  indifference.  If  I  rouse,  it  is  into  fury.  I  pre- 
sume I  shall  die  like  Swift,  dying  at  top."  Byron's 
Tvork,  like  his  life,  was  a  sort  of  Eembrandt  study; 
so  dark  is  all  round,  that  the  light  shines  out  like 
a  lustrous  magic ;  the  splendid  poetry  of  Manfred 
gilds  even  the  mystification  of  Astarte's  fate,  and  we 
scarce  pause  to  inquire  its  nature,  incest,  self-immola- 
tion, or  what  ? — in  our  rapture  at  its  poetic  beauty.  In 
such  a  conflict  of  wild,  mad  passions,  Byron  passed  his 
eventful  life. 

J^li\  Sir  Walter  Scott  and  Lord  Byron  the  mal- 
formation of  the  foot  and  leg  and  talipes,  to  which 
they  were  subject,  indicated  that  a  nervous  attack 
occurred  during  intra-uterine^  life  of  a  paralytic  or 
spasmodic  character.  Such  an  occurrence  has  been 
proved  beyond  all  doubt  as  liable  to  be  accompanied  by 
modifications  of  the  mental  characteristics,  and  in 
some  instances  by  downright  idiocy.  This  is  specially 
so  when  the  spasmodic  attack  has  been  severe  and  the 
deformity  great. 

In  others  it  is  followed  by  eccentricity,  impetuosity 
of  temper,  waywardness,  or  genius,  even  when  there  is 
only  a  small  deformity  such  as  a  slight  strabismus  or 
a  twist  of  the  foot. 

JDcmonomania  (Percy  Bysshe  Shelley,  1792). — 
The  author  of  Queoi  Mah,  written  at  the  age  of  nineteen, 
and  other  poems,  was  educated  at  Eton,  where  he 
vehemently  opposed  the  fagging  system.  He  made  an 
unfortunate  marriage,  while  the  income  allowed  him 
w^as  modest.  The  separation  from  his  wife,  and  her 
subsequent  suicide,  apparently  unhinged  him.  Shelley 
was  an  enthusiast,  impetuous  and  passionate. 


354  MAD  HUMANITY 

His  miud  was  constantly  prone  to  the  illusions  of 
deep  and  painful  sentiments  of  demonomania.  He 
had  hallucinations  of  visions.  One  evening  as  he  was 
wandering  with  a  friend  in  the  isolated  paradise  of  St. 
Arenzo,  he  suddenly  grasped  his  arm,  exclaiming, 
"  There  it  is  again — there  " ;  and,  when  questioned,  he 
declared  he  saw  his  lately  deceased  child,  naked, 
arise  from  the  sea,  and  then  clap  its  little  hands,  as  if 
in  an  ecstasy  of  joy,  and  looking  at  him  with  the 
smiling  countenance  of  a  cherub."  As  proved  by  his 
work,  his  genius  early  conceived  itself  In  addition 
to  the  suicide  of  his  wife,  he  suffered  other  terrible 
family  afflictions.  He  ultimately  isolated  himself 
from  the  world,  and  took  a  quiet  villa  in  Italy, 
and  then  gave  to  the  world  those  splendid  poetical 
visions  which  were  read  by  few,  and  yet  denounced 
by  all. 

Monomania,  Partial  Dementia  (John  Clare,  1793). 
— This  was  brought  on  by  imprudent  speculation.  He 
was  confined  in  the  Lunatic  Asylum  at  Northampton, 
and  whilst  detained  in  the  asylum  he  wrote  as 
follows : — 

"I  am  !  yet  what  I  am  none  cares  or  knows, 
My  friends  forsake  me  like  a  memory  lost : 

I  am  the  self-consumer  of  my  woes, 

They  rise  and  vanish  in  oblivious  host, 

Like  shades  in  love  and  death's  oblivion  tost ; 
And  yet  I  am — and  live  with  shadows  lost. 

"  Into  the  nothingness  of  scorn  and  noise, 
Into  the  living  sea  of  waking  dreams. 

Where  there  is  neither  sense  of  life  or  joys. 
But  the  vast  shipwreck  of  my  life's  esteems, 

And  e'en  the  dearest — that  I  loved  the  best — 
Are  strange — nay,  rather  stranger  than  the  rest. 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  355 

"  I  long  for  scenes  where  man  has  never  trod, 
A  place  where  woman  never  smiled  or  wept  ; 

There  to  abide  with  my  Creator,  God, 

And  sleep  as  I  in  childhood  sweetly  slept : 

Untroubling  and  untroubled  where  I  lie, 
The  grass  below — above,  the  vaulted  sky." 

Religious  Melancholia  (Henry  Scott  Eiddell,  1798). 
— He  was  a  man  of  solitary  habits,  very  susceptible 
in  his  early  years,  and  liable  to  attacks  of  mental 
excitement  which  imj^aired  his  strength  and  solidity. 
His  despondency  became  so  great  that  he  was  placed 
in  an  asylum.  X  The  imagi^natiojiw^ 
^his  conversation  was  always  upon  tlie  misery  and 
suffering  which  he  endured.  /He  was  always  quoting 
his  own  poetry.  At  one  time  whilst  in  the  asylum  he 
was  approaching  convalescence,  his  mind  seemed  clear, 
but  it  was  only  momentary,  and  he  relapsed  again 
into  his  mental  state  of  oblivion. 

Aforal  Insanity  (Edgar  Allan  Poe,  1811). — He  was 
a  child  of  actors,  who  both  died  in  his  infancy.  He 
had  great  personal  attractions,  and  a  highly -strung 
nervous  system.  The  author  of  The  Raven  was  excit- 
able and  unstable,  ill-trained,  of  fascinating  disposition, 
grotesque,  but  living  in  the  momentary  delirium  of 
hope  and  joy. 

After  the  gigantic  efforts  of  Burton  in  his  Anatomy 
of  Melancholy,  the  author  fell  a  victim  to  that  complaint, 
as  we  learn  from  the  Latin  epitaph  on  his  monument  in 
St.'Treideswiede's  at  Oxford.  -Hood, who  kept  the  society 
with  whom  he  mingled  always  in  laughter,  was  himself 
reserved  and  silent  in  society,  a  Listen  and  Grimaldi, 
whose  entrance  on  the  stage  was  a  sign  for  great  and 
continuous  laughter,  were  themselves  melancholy  men. 


356  MAD  HUMANITY 

Carlini,  the  French  harlequin,  whose  tricks   produced 
convulsive  merriment  on  the  stage,  once  consulted  a 
physician  for  melancholy.  ^  The  advice  given  him  was, 
"  Go  and  see  Carlini,  he  will  make  you  laugh,"  the 
reply  being  "  Alas,  alas  !  I  am  Carlini."     The  effect  of 
rapt  attention  on  the  mind  is  often  followed  by  de- 
rangement   of   memory,    of    which    there    are    many 
instances, 
i        When  we  take  into  consideration  the  r/emis  irrita- 
\  bile    of    Tasso,    Alfieri,    Rousseau,    Johnson,    Shelley, 
\  Cowper,     Beattie,     Chatterton,     Schiller,     Bloomfield, 
I  Scott,  Coleridge,  Southey,  Lamb,  Lloyd,  Clare,  Eiddell, 
;  Poe,   and    Byron,    whom    I    have    described,   and    to 
,  whom  may  be  added  the  names  of  Dryden,  Cowley, 
I  Voltaire,   Smollett,   Pope,   and  Keats,  we  almost  pity 
\  tlie  penalties  of  mighty  genius.  K  Paganini,  the  great 
i  violinist,  paid  dearly  for  his  consummate  skilL  4-  He 
^  told  a  friend  that  he  scarcely  knew  what  sleep  was, 
and   that   his   nerves   were   wrought   to   such   almost 
preternatural     acuteness     that     harsh     sounds     often 
:  became  a  torture  to  him.  ^  He  described  his  passion 
for  music  as  an  all-absorbing  one,  a  consuming  one: 
in  fact,  he  looked  as  if  no  other  life  than  that  of  an 
ethereal  one  of  melody  were  circulating  in  his  veins ; 
but,  he  added  with  a  glow  of  triumph  kindling  through 
deep  sadness,  "  Mais  c'est  un  don  du  cieV 
*  William  Shakespeare,  although  few  know  the  fact, 
died   in   the  meridian   of  his    splendour   of  a  foollsli 
excess,   as   Ave   gather    from   the   MSS.   diary   of  Mr. 
Ward  of   Stratford,   an  intimate  acquaintance  of  the 
Lucys,   the    Cloptons,   and    the    Coombes,   who   were 
Shakespeare's  associates.      This  is  recorded  in  his  diary 
in  the  Library  of  the  Medical  Society  of  London,  some 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  357 

forty  years  after  Shakespeare's  death,  and  we  read  the 
following  passage,  "  Shakespeare,  Drayton,  and  Ben 
^onson^had  a  merry  meeting,  and,  it  seems,  drank  too 
hard,  for  Sliakespeare  died  of  a  feavour  there  coii^ 
Tracted."  ^  ' 

]\Iust  of  the  hallucinations  which  occur  in  the 
poets  assume  two  distinct  forms — the  allusions  of 
bright  visions,  or  those  of  Demonomania.  ,'  If  we 
examine  the  statistics  as  to  the  mortality  of  genius, 
we  find  that  at  the  two  extremities  of  the  scale  we 
have  the  natural  philosoplier  and  the  poet ;  the  aggre- 
gate duration  of  the  lives  of  the  former  may  be  stated 
as  being  seventy-five  and  of  the  latter  fifty-seven. 

The  mind  of  the  astronomer  especially,  whose 
enraptured  eye  contemplates  the  "  majestic  roof  fretted 
with  golden  fire,"  is  carried  far  above  the  influence  of 
human  passion,  and  the  collision  of  earth  ;  and  is  not 
our  mother  earth  a  Moloch,  by  a  thousand  secret 
poisons  sacrificing  her  own  children  ?  Herschel, 
Halley,  and  Newton  were  octogenarians. 

But  the  labour  of  the  poetic  mind  is  a  creation. 
To  the  Creator,  a  world,  a  universe,  is  but  the  work  of 
a  will,  a  wish,  a  Jiat ;  to  the  creature,  even  the  birth 
of  a  thought  may  be  an  overwhelming  struggle,  a 
convulsive  pang  of  parturition.  <  It  is  recorded  of 
more  than  one  poet,  that  they  wrote  their  verses  six 
times  over ;  Alfieri  writes :  "  All  my  tragedies  have 
been  composed  three  times."  yLSo  careful  was  Virgil  to 
revise  and  polish  his  poetry,  that  he  compared  himself 
to  a  bear  that  was  constantly  licking  his  cubs  into 
shape.  In  some,  however,  we  may  observe  such 
energy  of  mind,  such  firmness  of  brain,  and  such  high 
moral  temperament,  as  may  come  unscathed  through 


r 


358  MAD  HUMANITY 

the  trial.  ^  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  enabled,  with  im- 
punity, to  write  nine  volumes  in  as  many  months,  taking 
still  his  prominent  position  in  society ;  and  Johnson, 
in  seven  years,  compiled  his  gigantic  Lexicon,  and 
wrote  TJie  BamUcr,  with  other  minor  compositions, 
and  went  through  his  routine  of  society  daily.  We 
are  told,  too,  that  he  wrote  forty-eight  pages  of  the 
Life  of  Savage  in  sixteen  hours.  But  even  these 
labours  may  perhaps  yield,  in  the  sapping  and  mining 
of  the  brain,  to  the  slavery  of  periodical  literature. 

I  will  now  pass  on  to  consider  briefly  some  of  the 
principal  artists  whose  works  have  been  handed  down 
to  posterity  as  great  geniuses,  but  whose  minds  have 
given  way.  The  saying,  "  Poeta  nascitur  non  fit,"  is 
equally  true  with  regard  to  artists  ;^by  practice,  no 
doubt,  they  can  acquire  the  art  to  a  certain  extent, 
but  unless  the  genius  exists  their  work  will  be  nothing 
but  commonplace.  It  is  a  very  favourite  occupation 
of  the  inmates  of  an  asylum  to  make  sketches  of 
various  design  and  originality.  Many  of  these  pro- 
ductions are  the  work  of  geniuses  whose  minds  have 
fallen  from  their  high  estate,  and  very  quickly  you  can 
detect  in  these  pictorial  epistles  omissions  of  lines, 
unsteadiness  of  object,  until  perhaps  a  scrawl,  scarcely 
decipherable,  remains  behind. 

Moral  Insanity  ivith  Hallucinations  (Benvenuto 
Cellini,  1500-71).  —  This  artist  was  superstitious 
and  credulous,  as  well  as  irritable,  impetuous,  and 
imaginative.  It  is  believed  that  his  highly- wrought 
and  inflammable  fancy  led  to  his  great  exaggeration  in 
the  mystification  of  commonplace  circumstances,  and 
to  the  confession  of  crimes.  He  became  impressed 
with   the   delusion  that   some  murderous  design  had 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  359 

been  formed  to  destroy  him,  and  that  the  means 
devised  were  the  administration  of  diamond  dust, 
which  would  secretly  and  gradually  accomplish  its 
purpose  in  about  five  months.  At  one  period  of  his 
life  he  was  accused  of  embezzling  jewels,  which  had 
been  placed  in  his  keeping,  and  he  was  sent  to  prison, 
where  he  was  confined  in  a  miserable  dungeon. 
Whilst  there  he  made  an  attempt  at  suicide,  breaking 
his  leg  in  his  effort,  and  whilst  in  a  condition  of 
insensibility,  and  to  all  outward  appearances  dead,  he 
was  visited  in  his  dreams  or  delusions  by  a  beautiful 
angelic  youth,  who  reprimanded  him  for  his  desire 
to  die,  and  thus  mutilate  the  body  given  him  by 
God,  and  persuades  him  to  escape  from  the  destiny 
appointed  for  him.  From  this  time  a  change  takes 
place,  and  he  is  haunted  chiefly  by  religious  hallucina- 
tions. He  never  recovers  his  mental  reason,  though 
many  of  his  works  were  painted  after  this  time,  and 
he  dies  a  victim  of  suspicion,  a  hypochondriac,  being 
an  illustration  of  the  union  of  genius,  depravity,  and 
delusion. 

Monomania  with  Delusions  of  Persecution  (James 
Barry,  1741-1806). — As  a  boy  he  was  a  truant,  and 
acts  of  infantile  felony  were  reported  against  him. 
He  squandered  his  money,  was  perverse  and  stubborn, 
and  his  peculiarities  of  dress  were  manifest.  Not- 
withstanding his  oddities,  inflexible  temper,  and  some- 
what repulsive  manner,  he  was  regarded  by  his 
companions  as  a  prodigy  of  learning.  The  first 
intimation  of  his  special  vocation  was  the  etchings  in 
a  volume  of  tales.  The  more  public  and  picturesque 
disclosure  of  his  ambition  and  powers  occurred  in  an 
attempt  to  exhibit  a  picture  of  aS'j^.  Patrick's  Landing 


360  MAD  HUMANITY 

on  the  Coast  of  Cashel,  in  the  Dublin  Institution  for 
the  Encouragement  of  Art,  which  produced  so  striking 
an  impression  upon  its  admirers  that  the  name  and 
appearance  of  the  painter  were  demanded,  who  stood 
forward,  a  poorly  clad  and  humble  boy,  and  bearing 
such  traces  of  his  actual  condition  that  his  claim  was 
discredited,  and  he  rushed  from  the  room  burning  with 
shame  and  bursting  into  tears.  This  affecting  incident 
w^as  witnessed  by  Edmund  Burke.  "  There  is  a  tide," 
says  a  great  psychologist,  "  in  the  affairs  of  men " ; 
there  are  epochs,  I  say,  in  the  history  of  all  erratic  men, 
utterly  inconsistent  with  the  modern  doctrine  of  the 
regular  evolution  of  the  mind,  and  with  the  permanent 
localisation  of  faculties,  formerly  so  generally  believed 
in,  but  which  cause  the  essential  elements  of  character 
to  stand  out  in  bold  and  painful  relief.  The  climax 
now  alluded  to  powerfully  influenced  the  career  of 
Barry.  He  became  subsequently,  and  for  a  long  period, 
deeply  indebted  to  the  friendly  countenance  and 
pecuniary  aid  of  the  eloquent  senator,  and  was  by  his 
means  supported  during  his  early  studies  in  London, 
and  was  subsequently  sent  to  Naples  and  to  Eome. 
His  destination  to  the  latter  school  was,  in  part, 
determined  by  the  remark  of  Sir  J.  Eeynolds  that,  in 
order  to  gratify  his  ambition  of  becoming  an  historical 
painter,  he  must  live  in  the  Sistine  Chapel.  He 
passed  many  studious  days  amid  the  glories  and 
triumphs  of  Eaphael  and  Michael  Angelo.  He 
appeared  disappointed,  and  questioned  their  ability. 
^He  was  irritable  and  hostile,  and  engaged  in  rasli 
controversy  and  quarrels,  rarely  if  ever  agreeing  with 
any  one.  His  temper  was  violent;  he  was  miserly, 
and  had  to  pay  the  penalty  of  this  by  being  robbed  to 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  361 

a  considerable  extent.  He  held  the  appointment  of 
Professor  of  Painting  at  the  time,  and  he  accused  his 
brother  academicians  of  the  robbery,  in  consequence 
of  which  he  was  expelled  from  the  Poyal  Academy. 
After  this  he  produced  his  most  famous  production, 
Pandora.  He  was  a  great  friend  of  Edmund  Burke, 
the  senator.  V  Of  ^lis  latter  days  the  poet  Southey 
writes  :  "  I  visited  Barry  in  his  den ;  he  wore  at  that 
time  an  old  coat  of  green  baise,  but  from  which  time 
had  taken  all  the  green  that  his  paint  and  dust  had 
not  covered.  His  wig  was  one  which  he  might  have 
borrowed  from  a  scarecrow ;  he  lived  alone  in  a  house 
which  was  never  cleaned,  and  he  slept  on  a  bedstead 
with  no  other  furniture  than  a  blanket  nailed  on  one 
side.  Y^  wanted  him  to  visit  me.  '  No,'  he  said, 
*  he  would  not  go  out  by  day,  because  he  could  not 
spare  time  from  his  picture ;  and  if  he  went  out  in  the 
evening,  the  academicians  would  murder  him.' "  In 
this  solitary,  sullen  life  he  continued  until  he  fell  ill, 
very  probably  for  want  of  sufficiently  nourishing  food, 
and,  after  lying  for  two  or  three  days  under  his 
blanket,  he  had  just  strength  enough  left  to  crawl  to 
his  own  door,  open  it,  and  lay  himself  down  with  a 
paper  in  his  hand,  on  which  he  had  written  his  wish 
to  be  carried  to  the  house  of  Sir  A.  Carlisle,  in  Solio 
Square.  There  he  was  taken  care  of,  and  the  danger 
from  which  he  had  thus  escaped,  seems  to  have  cured 
his  mental  hallucinations.  He  cast  his  slough  after- 
wards, appeared  decently  clad,  and  in  his  own  grey 
hair,  and  mixed  in  such  society  as  he  liked.  He  was 
a  compound  of  morbid  tendencies  and  distinguished 
talents  and  tastes,  and  if  his  mental  condition  had 
been  adjudicated  upon  by  a  Commission  of  Lunacy  he 


362  MAD  HUMANITY 

would  have  been  found  of  "  unsound  mind  and 
irresponsible/'  but  at  the  same  time  there  would  be  an 
admission  of  the  fact  that  he  possessed  abilities  denied 
to  the  wisest  and  best  of  his  fellow-men. 

General  Paralysis  (Edwin  Landseer,  1802-73). — 
It  is  instructive  that  the  best  established  illustrations 
of  the  hereditary  transmission  of  qualities  should  be 
afforded  by  mental  disease  and  mental  distinction,  by 
mental  capacity  or  incapacity.  It  is  not  incumbent 
here  to  demonstrate  either  the  real  existence,  the 
origin,  or  the  laws  of  the  descent  of  mental  or  physical 
qualities.  -  Public  and  professional  opinion  have  de- 
clared strongly  in  favour  of  the  belief  that  health  or 
disease,  in  various  aspects  or  degrees,  may  pass  from 
sire  to  son  through  many  generations,  and  even  for 
centuries.  He  would,  indeed,  be  a  bold  disputant  who 
could  deny  the  probability  of  such  a  hypothesis,  when 
the  genealogy  of  such  a  man  as  Sir  Edwin  Landseer 
is  presented  to  his  notice.  It  would  appear  that  this 
gifted  genius  represented,  either  directly  or  collater- 
ally, by  consanguinity  of  family  connection,  a  long 
succession  of  distinguished  engravers,  whose  work  and 
fame  could  be  traced  back  for  nearly  three  hundred 
years.  It  is  true  that  the  transcendent  eminence  of 
our  countryman  was  achieved  by  the  brush  rather  than 
the  burin,  by  painting  chiefly  and  not  by  engraving  ;  bat 
the  investigations  of  Galton  justify  the  opinion  that  it 
is  the  general  power,  play,  or  inspiration  of  imagina- 
tion which  is  handed  down,  and  that  its  special 
direction  or  application  is  determined  by  the  mental 
constitution,  tlie  education,  or  even  by  external  circum- 
stances. That  Edwin  Landseer  was  not  deficient  in 
the  family  talent  and   characteristic,  was   proved   by 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  363 

several  successful  essays  in  engraving  executed  in 
early  life,  but  that  his  predilection  for  painting  was 
called  into  existence,  even  before  these  attempts  were 
made  and  almost  in  infancy,  is  demonstrable.  In 
precocity,  Sir  T.  Lawrence  somewhat  anticipated  him  ; 
as  it  is  recounted  that  this  prodigy  could  declaim  in 
eloquence,  and  could  execute  correct  likenesses  when 
five  years  old.  As  in  other  instances  of  a  powerful 
inherited  tendency,  Edwin  Landseer  was  precocious, 
and  it  is  narrated  that  so  soon  as  his  tiny  fingers  could 
hold  a  pencil,  he  was  led  or  allowed  to  go  into  the 
fields  to  sketch  the  sheep  that  pastured  there,  and  that 
his  drawings  were  executed  with  wonderful  fidelity. 
This  occurred  when  the  child  was  five  years  old,  and 
the  spot  consecrated  by  these  efforts  of  infantile  genius 
can  still  be  pointed  out,  and  still  contains  an  old 
stunted  oak-tree,  under  the  shade  of  which  he  sat,  but 
which  his  hand  does  not  seem  to  have  immortalised. 
The  locality  has  been  identified  from  information 
derived  by  W.  Howitt  from  the  artist's  father,  but  is 
now  perhaps  covered  by  some  of  the  stately  or  un- 
sightly piles  of  houses  by  which  the  metropolis  is 
rushing  into  the  country.  From  this,  the  beginning 
of  his  career  to  its  close,  he  imitated  or  anticipated 
the  principle  and  practice  of  his  friend,  W.  Hunt,  in 
copying  invariably  from  nature,  even  when  a  pin  was 
the  object.  The  ordinary,  or  even  commonplace 
objects  selected,  afforded  great  facilities  for  carrying 
this  golden  rule  into  effect,  as  his  first  essays — and 
some  of  them  were  excellent — generally  embodied  the 
heads  of  hounds,  asses,  and  other  domestic  animals. 
Subsequently,  as  a  boy  or  lad,  he  frequented  Exeter 
Change  in  order  to  study  the  features  and  manners 


364  MAD  HUMANITY 

of  the  lions,  but  as  a  child  his  aim  was  less  ambitious, 
and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  he  etched  one  of  his 
own  productions,  the  head  of  an  ass,  when  only  eight 
years  old,  thus  outstripping  in  prematurity  his  great 
parallel,  Lucas  Van  Leydeu,  who  etched  designs  of  his 
when  only  nine.  About  the  same  period,  Edwin 
Landseer  painted  a  terrier  with  a  rat  in  his  mouth, 
which  was  sold  for  what  was  then  esteemed  the 
magnificent  price  of  sixty-eight  guineas,  but  which 
would  now  secure  treble  tliat  amount.  Even  when 
still  a  boy,  and  when  scarcely  recognised  as  having 
attained  the  full  stature  of  an  artist,  his  prolificness 
was  extraordinary,  and  copious  catalogues  have  been 
made  out,  ranging  from  a  stag's  head  to  dogs  and 
rabbits,  which  must  have  been  painted  when  he  was 
about  twelve.  The  number  of  pictures,  of  almost 
priceless  value,  which  he  perfected  with  a  facility 
peculiar  to  liimself,  are  so  far  explained  by  his  extreme 
rapidity  of  execution  acquired  by  severe  study,  incessant 
practice,  and  the  sameness  of  the  subjects  embraced. 
The  brief  time  consumed  in  the  production  of  his  works 
has  been  exemplified  by  his  having  completed  a  full- 
length  portrait  of  a  noble  lord  at  a  single  sitting,  and 
a  characteristic  group  of  some  of  his  favourites  within 
the  time  of  morning  church  service.  It  is  likewise 
probable  that  his  training  under  Haydon,  who  instructed 
him  not  only  in  the  physiognomical  peculiarities,  but 
in  the  anatomical  structure,  and  consequently  in  the 
movements  of  the  objects  of  his  study,  may  have  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  celerity  with  which  he  committed 
his  conceptions  to  canvas.  4  Having  first  secured  much 
admiration  for  his  representation  of  a  St.  Bernard  dog, 
he  became  an  exhibitor  in  the  Academy  when  thirteen 


MADXESS  OF  GENIUS  365 

years  old,  and  from  this  time  throughout  his  life,  his 
works  appeared  iu  rapid  succession  on  the  same  walls, 
or  on  those  of  the  British  Institution.  The  efforts 
first  exhibited  were  pictures  of  a  mule  and  a  dog,  and 
at  once  attracted  attention,  or  rather  commanded  the 
admiration  of  competent  judges.  But  not  only  w^as 
the  public  taste  appealed  to  in  these  galleries,  but 
multitudes  of  his  productions  were  sold  and  circulated 
to  connoisseurs  and  patrons,  ever  rising  in  rank  and 
affluence,  and  ever  offering  rewards,  in  his  modest  and 
uninstructed  eyes  often  excessive,  but  ever  in  their 
increasing  magnitude  keeping  pace  with  his  fame  and 
the  fertility  of  his  genius.  But  his  reputation  was 
w^idened  by  the  distribution  of  engravings  of  his 
performances,  inserted  in  sporting  and  other  maga- 
zines, among  classes  which  otherwise  might  have 
been  excluded  from  becoming  acquainted  with  his 
triumphs  in  a  popular  department  of  art.  To  the 
ability  of  his  brother  (who  likewise  possessed  the  merit 
of  introducing  to  Englishmen  the  works  of  Kosa 
Bonheur)  in  engraving  many  of  his  finest  pieces,  he 
was  indebted  for  the  almost  universal  knowledge  of  his 
performances ;  for  it  should  be  remembered  that  even 
to  the  present  day  vast  numbers  of  our  countrymen 
have  never  seen  even  a  drawing  by  Sir  Edwin 
Landseer,  but  are  familiar  with  Bolton  Ablcy  and 
similar  plates.  tC  It  would  appear  that  at  a  certain  stage 
of  his  career  a  cloud  passed  over  the  sunshine  which 
seemed  to  surround  the  most  trivial  display  of  his 
powers,  by  his  failure  in  certain  portraits,  and  his 
attempt  to  diverge  into  objects  by  the  introduction, 
for  instance,  of  a  hat  and  gloves  into  a  composition 
more  congenial  with  his  recognised  style  and  taste ;  an 


366  MAD  HUMANITY 

attempt  which  originated  and  caused  a  violent  con- 
troversy. But  this  dispute  aided  rather  than  arrested 
the  current  of  general  approbation,  and  he  is  found, 
even  as  a  youth,  adventuring  upon  large  pictures,  and 
producing  lions  and  animals  of  similar  proportions. 
Contemporaneously  appeared  from  his  hand  the 
Larder  Invaded,  for  which  he  received  from  the 
directors  of  the  British  Institution  the  premium  of 
£150;  the  Cafs  Paw,  with  an  estimated  value  of 
£3000;  the  Prize  Calf,  calculated  at  £1890;  and 
Two  Dogs,  which  rose  in  price  from  £300  to  £2415. 
I  have  traced  this  original  genius  almost  from^hirtlito 
the  most  eventful  and  brilliant  period  of  his  career : 
it  would  be  tautological  and  tiresome  to  enumerate 
here  the  description,  even  the  names  of  those  works 
which  rose  under  his  hand,  rendering  his  name  a 
household  word,  and  his  creations,  shrines,  in  almost 
every  hall  and  hut  in  the  kingdom.  sCIn  the  first  stages 
of  advancement  the  subjects  chosen  were  almost  ex- 
clusively domestic  animals  placed  in  familiar  circum- 
stances. To  a  citizen  almost  imprisoned  in  London 
such  a  choice  was  natural,  but  his  feelings  drew  him 
in  the  same  direction.  ^  He  not  merely  admired  animals 
and  studied  their  ways  and  character,  but  he  loved 
them  intensely.  They  were  to  him  companions, 
intimates,  relatives,  and  by  that  sympathy  and  recip- 
rocity of  affection  which  establishes  a  sort  of  kinship 
and  understanding  between  the  two  species,  the  tie  of 
love  and  confidence  seems  to  have  been  mutual.  So 
that  from  the  almost  historic  Brutus  to  the  veriest 
mongrel  which  he  has  committed  to  canvas,  it  is 
evident  that  Edwin  Landseer  was  not  merely  the 
painter  but  the  deity  of  the  animal.     Further,  it  has 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  367 

to  be  remarked  that  his  success  and  fame  were  built 
up  on  his  exquisite  representations  of  their  humbler 
models,  and  that  he  became  an  academician,  a  celebrity, 
in  virtue  of  such  pictures  as  the  Cat's  Paw,  rather  than 
of  the  development  of  his  abilities  in  what  may  be 
esteemed  the  highest  range  of  his  imagination.     This 
flight  occurred  subsequent   to   a   visit  to   Abbotsford 
where,  as  has  been  said,  he  was  sure  to  get  on  well 
with  "the  author  of  WaverUy  and  The  Doggies!'     His 
beautiful     preservation     of     Maida,     so     intimately 
connected  with  the  writings   and  private  life   of  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  may  be  held  as  the  commencement  of 
his  new  or  romantic  style  of  painting,  in  which  stags 
and    hounds,    deer-stalking,    the    wild    scenery    amid 
which  the  game  is  pursued,  and  the  animating  inci- 
dents which  attend  the  life,  the  manners,  the  death  of 
the  king  of  the  forest,  and  of  all  the  other  kinds  of 
game  in  the  Highlands,  take  the  place  formerly  en- 
grossed by  curs   of  low   degree.     As  works  marking 
this  epoch  may  be  mentioned,  the  King  of  the  Glen, 
the    Chiefs   Eeturn  from   Deerstalking,  the    Challenge, 
the    scene   where  a   deer  and   a    hound   are   precipi- 
tated over  a  cliff,  the  latter  being  saved  by  an  aged 
stalker.     This  view   rises    almost   into  the  region    of 
historical  painting ;  the  drawing  is  dramatic,  and  reveals 
a  romance  as  well  as  a  glimpse  of  the  mountain  and 
the  flood  and  their  inhabitants.     While  of  independent 
mien  and  moral  bearing,  Sir  Edwin  Land  seer  stood  in 
a  peculiar  relation  to  his  father,  who  for  a  long  period 
acted  as  his  guide,  guardian,  and  factor,  not  merely 
acting  for  him,  but  in  many  circumstances  apparently 
thinking  for  him.     They  loved  each  other,  but  the  son 
evidently  regarded  his  parent  with  awe  and  diffidence, 


368  MAD  HUMANITY 

and,  altlioiigli  reluctant  to  separate  from  him,  must 
have  lived  in  a  kind  of  subjection  or  tutelage.  Ulti- 
mately he  formed  a  distinct  establishment,  more  ample 
and  suitable  than  the  obscure  corner  to  which  he  had 
formerly  been  confined.  ^He  there  saw  and  entertained 
his  friends,  formed  new  connections  and  attachments, 
and  greatly  enlarged  his  circle  of  acquaintances,  both 
within  and  beyond  professional  limits ;  but  of  his 
intercourse  under  his  own  roof  it  is  not  my  object  to 
speak,  nor  is  it  necessary  to  say  more  of  his  mingling 
with  general  society,  than  that  his  world-wide  fame, 
his  eleo-ant  person  and  manners,  as  well  as  his  amiable 
disposition,  brought  him  into  contact  and  personal 
friendship  with  the  highest  and  noblest  in  the  land, 
with  those  who  were  gifted  with  lofty  position  and 
bearing,  with  knowledge,  or  wisdom,  or  virtue.  At 
many  points  his  association  with  the  upper  and  polished 
ranks  might  afford  illustrations  suitable  to  the  present 
purpose,  but  I  shall  be  content  with  one,  as  it  affords 
a  curious  proof  both  of  manual  dexterity  and  what 
may  be  called  duality  of  wdll  and  constructive  power. 
I  While  present  at  an  evening  party  of  the  upper  ten 
I  thousand,  an  idle  observation  was  hazarded,  by  an 
I  empty-minded  lady  of  distinction,  as  to  the  impossi- 


I  bility  of  doing  two  things  at  once.  He  accepted  the 
I  remark  as  a  challenge,  when  he  said,  "  Oh  !  I  can  do 
I  that;  lend  me  two  pencils  and  I  will  show  you." 
]  The  pencils  were  got,  a  piece  of  paper  was  laid  on  the 
J  table,  and  Sir  Edwin,  a  pencil  in  each  hand,  drew, 
>  simultaneously  and  without  hesitation^^with  one  hand 
i  the  profile  of  a  stag's  head  and  all  its  antlers  com- 
I  plete,  and  with  the  other  the  perfect  profile  of  a 
I  horse's  head,j^Both  drawings  w^ere  full  of  energy  and 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  369 

spirit,  and  although,  as  the  occasion  compelled,  not 
finished  sketches,  they  were,  together  and  individu- 
ally, quite  as  good  as  even  the  master  himself  was 
accustomed  to  produce  by  one  at  a  time,  and  with  his 
right  hand  alone ;  the  drawing  by  the  left  hand  was 
not  inferior  to  that  of  the  right.  We  have  all 
been  apprised  by  popular  rumour  that  Sir  Edwin 
Landseer  died  of  one  of  the  neuroses,  and  details  are 
not  wanting  of  the  progress  of  the  calamity ;  but  the 
precise  signs  or  symptoms  of  the  decadence  and  of  the 
sad  end  have,  I  think,  with  commendable  feeling  and 
delicacy  been  withheld ;  and  a  veil  has  been  drawn 
between  the  gradual  culmination  and  the  public  gaze. 
Imitating  the  course  adopted  by  his  biographers,  and 
adopting  their  words,  I  shall  now  close  this  psycho- 
logical sketch  : — "  A  Kind  Star  illustrated  a  Highland 
superstition,  but  in  such  a  manner  as  proved  that  tlie 
designer's  mind  was  not  in  its  usual  fine  tone  when 
this  work  was  conceived.  The  superstition  is  that 
liinds  are  under  the  protection  of  beneficent  stars ;  a 
hind  lies  dying  on  the  banks  of  the  lake.  So  far 
nothing  could  be  said ;  but  the  introduction  of  a  spirit 
with  a  star  in  its  hair  to  bend  over  the  poor  beast  was 
of  quite  another  order  of  invention.  The  production 
of  this  idea  was  the  first  decided  sign  of  decay  in  the 
powers  of  our  artist.  Those  who  owed  him  so  much 
delight  for  so  many  years  past  stood  aghast  before  it. 
Some  of  these  tried  to  ascribe  its  exhibition,  and  even 
its  production,  to  obedience  to  some  unfrequent  impulse 
— deference  to  some  inferior  mind,  subservience  to 
some  vulgar  taste.  However  this  might  be,  there, 
unfortunately,  it  was. 

"  So  far  the  critic  and  the  writer  see  no  reason  for 
2  B 


370  MAD  HUMANITY 

changing  their  opinion  of  this  masterpiece  of  Sir 
Edwin's — Flood  in  the  Highlands.  If  it  was  not  his 
finest  work,  it  was  at  any  rate  his  culminating  one. 

■  He  painted  none  which  w^as  nearly  so  good  afterwards. 
Indeed,  even  before  this  picture  was  finished,  the 
painter,  always  a  man  of  nervous  susceptibility,  had 
hints  of  no  mistakable  kind  that  the  human  mind, 
and  the  body  which  surrounded  it,  are   mortal.  ^.  He 

I  was  constitutionally  subject  to  nervous  depression,  but 
these  attacks  had  accumulated  force  as  years  went  on 
with  him,  and  threatened  the  end,  which  came  at  last 
with  all  its  painfulness.  We  remember  him  during 
the  painting  of  this  j)icture,  especially  on  the  Tuesday 
before  it  was  sent  to  the  Academy  -f>-  he  was  then 
putting  a  few  last  touches  on  the  huge  canvas.  He 
looked  as  if  about  to  become  an  old  man,  although  his 
years  by  no  means  justified  the  fact.  iC  It  was  not 
that  he  had  lost  activity,  or  that  his  form  had  shrunk, 
for  he  moved  as  firmly  and  swiftly  as  ever ;  indeed, 
he  was  rather  demonstrative  in  this  matter,  stepping 
on  and  off  the  platform  in  his  studio  with  needless 
display,  and  his  form  was  stout  and  well  filled. 
Nevertheless,  without  seeming  to  be  overworked,  he 
did  not  look  robust,  and  he  had  a  nervous  manner, 
remarkable  in  so  distinguished  a  man,  one  who  was 
by  no  means  unconscious  of  himself,  and  yet,  to  those  he 
liked,  full  of  kindness  and  genial  in  an  unusual  degree. 
Even  in  1867  there  was  little  outward  change,  although 
not  long  after  that  date  the  attacks  occurred  with 
fewer  and  briefer  intervals.  These  intervals  caused  the 
reports,  which  flew  about  in  the  terms :  '  Sir  Edwin  is 
better ' ;  '  much  better,'  as  some  would  have,  and, 
anon,  'much  worse,' — as  many  said. 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  371 

"  The  closing  years  of  Sir  Edwin's  long,  otherwise 
not  unhappy,  and  generally  laborious  life,  were 
darkened  in  the  manner  we  have  already  indicated, 
rather  than  described.  He  died  on  the  mornincr  of 
1st  October  1873,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Paul's,  with 
honours,  on  the  11th  of  the  same  month."  -^ 

A  friend  has  reported  that  when  visiting  this 
great  animal  painter  he  found  him  on  his  death-bed, 
supported  by  pillows,  but  as  busily  engaged  and 
interested  as  a  tremulous  hand  permitted  in  diaw- 
ing.  The  subject  purported  to  be  The  Death  of  the 
Prince  Consort ;  but — "  the  ruling  passion  strong  in  . 
death  " — he  devoted  his  last  touches  to  a  dog  which  I 
was  to  form  one  of  the  sad  group.  I  do  not  know 
whether  this  expiring  effort  was  ever  finished,  nor  in 
what  state  it  remained  if  unfinished. 

Hallucinations  of  Demonomania  and  Strength  (Wil- 
liam Blake,  1757-1827). — An  artist  of  considerable 
fame,  he  was  also  a  poet,  and  his  compositions  were 
innumerable,  leaving  behind  him  one  hundred  MSS. 
for  publication.  A^He  was  regarded  by  his  many 
admirers  as  the  equal  of  Shelley  or  Byron.  He 
suffered  from  hallucinations,  and  being  invited  to 
Brighton  to  illustrate  his  edition  of  Cowper,  he  was 
met  on  the  Downs,  in  his  own  imagination,  by  the 
si^irits  of  Dante,  Virgil,  and  Homer,  whom  he  describes 
as  coloured  shadows  and  with  whom  he  held  high  con- 
verse, watching  the  fairies  and  their  funerals,  and  all 
the  milder  and  gentler  forms  of  demonolatry.  For 
some  years  he  had  sighed  for  an  interview  with  Satan, 
whom  he  had  considered  to  be  a  grand  and  splendid 
spiritual  existence,  and  whom  he  ultimately  alleges  he 
^  Memoirs  of  Sir  Edivin  Landseer,  by  F.  G.  Stevens,  1874, 


372  MAD  HUMANITY 

saw  as  he  was  going  up  the  stah's  of  his  house,  in  his 
mind's  eye,  the  fiend  ghiiing  upon  him  through  the 
grating  of  a  window,  when  his  wife,  conceiving  that 
lie  was  suffering  from  one  of  his  poetical  halhicina- 
tions,  induced  him  to  execute  a  portrait  of  his  infernal 
visitant,  and  in  consequence  of  this  vision  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  that  he  had  abnormal  strength,  and, 
whilst  suffering  from  this  delusion,  he  attacked  a 
soldier,  and  was  tried  for  high  treason.  Many  of  the 
critics  of  the  time  described  him  as  eccentric,  another 
as  visionary,  a  third  as  an  enthusiast,  a  fourth  as  a 
superstitious  ghost-seer ;  but  that  he  was  mad  they 
had  not  the  slightest  doubt. 

Suicidal  Madness  (Benjamin  Eobert  Hay  don,  1786- 
1846). — As  a  boy  he  was  self-willed,  animated  by 
paroxysms  of  uno^overnable  rage.  He  exhibited  in  the 
Academy  in  1807.  His  first  picture,  of  decisive  merit, 
was  entitled  The  Flight  into  Egypt,  but  the  works  upon 
which  his  reputation  rests  were  Macbeth,  The  Judgment  of 
Solomo7i,  Christ  blessing  the  little  Children,  Lazarus,  and 
Jeruscdcin.  He  committed  suicide,  and  the  coroner's 
jury  found  he  was  of  unsound  mind  when  he  committed 
the  act ;  such  was  the  verdict  of  tw^elve  of  his  country- 
men who  knew  nothing  of  his  misfortune — the  dis- 
appointed ambition,  and  the  misapplied  talent  of  the 
man  of  genius  on  whom  they  adjudicated. 

Dipsomania  and  Moral  Insanity  (Joseph  Mallord 
William  Turner,  1775-1851). — He  was  the  son  of  a 
barber,  of  narrow  means  and  narrower  mind,  who  is 
said  never  to  have  commended  his  child,  except  for  the 
saving  or  hoarding  of  a  halfpenny ;  his  mother  w^as  of  a 
fierce  temper  and  passions,  which  ripened  into  maniacal 
fury,  necessitating  her  confinement  in  Bethlem  Hospital. 


MADXESS  OF  GENIUS  373 

He  seems  never  to  have  had  boy's  inclinations,  and  we 
hear  little  of  the  pranks  of  merry  mischief-making 
childhood,  or  of  the  precocity  which  foreshadows  fame. 
He  was  so  imperfectly  taught  that  he  grew  up  a 
waif  and  a  starveling,  not  merely  in  all  kinds  of  know- 
ledge, save  one,  but  in  the  everyday  acquirements  of 
even  the  uneducated.  /  He  could  never  spell,  but  his 
defective  orthography  was  equalled  by  that  of  President 
West.  He  could  rarely  write  lucidly,  or  even  intel- 
ligibly, in  his  own  language ;  and  it  is  affirmed  that 
although  many  of  the  clauses  of  his  last  testament  were 
reversed  upon  public  grounds,  or  because  they  were 
impracticable,  other  provisions  were  passed  over  or 
negatived  because  the  terms  of  the  bequest  were 
incomprehensible.  His  early  home  was,  if  not 
poverty-stricken  or  positively  sordid,  as  may  be 
apprehended,  very  humble;  but  in  one  of  its  apart- 
ments he  contrived  to  immure  himself  in  order  to 
prosecute  his  favourite  occupations,  refusing  access  to 
all  applicants,  and  concealing  the  work  upon  which  he 
was  engaged ;  thus,  at  a  very  early  age,  displaying  the 
love  of  seclusion,  the  suspicion  and  secretiveness, 
which,  with  slight  modifications,  marked  his  whole  life 
and  even  his  death. 

He  was  observed,  when  young,  to  trace  figures  with 
his  finger  on  a  wet  tea-tray.  This  incident,  and  a 
drawing  attempted  when  nine  years  old,  probably 
suggested  to  his  parents  whatever  subsequent  direction 
may  have  been  given  to  the  lad's  pursuits,  and  the 
choice  of  that  style  of  training  which  he  actually 
underwent.  At  once  unselfish  and  discriminating,  the 
father  taught  the  boy  reading,  but  not  writing ;  sent 
him  to  school  for   a   brief  period,   devoted   a   legacy 


374  MAD  HUMANITY 

which  had  been  bequeathed  to  him  in  order  to  secure 
the  instructions  of  a  trustworthy  architect,  instead  of 
placing  the  boy  under  the  tuition  of  another,  who  had 
offered  to  take  him  gratuitously.  It  would  appear 
that  shortly  afterwards,  but  not  until  the  pupil  had 
imbibed  that  taste  for  architectural  drawing  which 
long  influenced  his  productions,  he  is  found  in  the 
school  of  a  floral  drawing- master,  then  under  a  per- 
spective draughtsman,  then  as  a  member  of  a  drawing- 
school,  and  ultimately  affiliated  with  the  Academy. 
In  all  likelihood,  however,  the  most  efficient  cultivation 
and  growth  of  his  powers  were  the  outcome  of  his 
spontaneous  efforts  in  his  garret,  where  he  threw  off 
drawings,  which,  whatever  might  be  their  demerits, 
were  exposed  for  sale  in  the  windows  of  his  father  and 
others,  found  ready  and  numerous  purchasers,  and 
contributed,  it  may  be,  the  nucleus  of  that  vast 
accumulation  of  property — it  cannot  be  called  wealth, 
as  he  never  enjoyed  it,  or  even  expended  it — by 
which  he  vainly  proposed  to  immortalise  his  name,  his 
individual  distinction,  and  the  importance  of  his  art. 
While  improving  his  manual  dexterity  in  his  secret 
studies,  and  in  the  curious  manipulation  of  lines, 
scratches,  and  blots,  which  are  asserted  to  be  the 
legerdemain  of  his  art,  it  may  be  believed  that  his 
love,  his  admiration,  of  external  nature,  contracted  and 
cherished  as  it  at  first  was  by  rambles  in  the  purlieus 
of  the  Metropolis,  promoted  and  perfected  the  education 
of  his  imagination  more  than  any  other  agency, 
although  the  companionship  with  the  pure  and  the 
beautiful  was  at  all  times  greatly  disfigured  by  the 
carnal  and  corrupt  elements  of  his  nature.  Many  of 
his  glimpses  into  the  phenomena  and  beauty  of  the 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  375 

external  world  were  obtained  incidentally  while  in 
prosecution  of  his  favourite,  all  but  fanatical,  partiality 
for  angling.  In  fishing  he  was  an  adept,  and  although 
provided  with  the  rudest  of  trouting  gear,  as  much  of  a 
zealot  as  Izaak  Walton.  To  the  gratification  of  this 
passion  may  be  attributed  his  fine  series  of  landscapes, 
The  Rivers  of  England.  But  streams  and  ripples,  and 
pools  and  reaches,  and  romantic  scenes,  were  not 
needed  to  minister  to  his  indulgence,  for  he  is  depicted 
as  seated  during  a  whole  day  on  the  margin  of  a  pond, 
under  an  umbrella,  to  protect  himself  from  the  rain, 
which  descended  in  torrents,  with  his  feet  upon  a 
board  for  further  protection,  perseveringly  devoted  to 
the  capture  of  ^vretched  perch  and  carp.  But  with 
advancing  years  these  opportunities  of  developing  and 
cultivating  his  powers  were  greatly  increased  by 
pilgrimages  to  Scotland,  France,  and  Italy,  really  in 
search  of  the  picturesque,  from  which  he  gathered  at 
once  copious  contents  of  portfolios,  to  be  utilised  and 
retouched  in  the  future ;  but  likewise  that  familiarity 
with  the  lights  and  shadows,  with  the  forms  and 
aspects  of  the  countries  through  which  he  passed, 
which  ultimately  became  one  of  the  many  characteristics 
of  his  art.  i  A  popular  opinion  has  prevailed  that 
Turner  possessed  intuitively,  or  acquired,  a  special 
capacity  for  penetrating  into  the  secrets  of  nature  ;  that 
the  results  of  this  intuition  were  discoveries ;  and  that 
his  marvellous  manac^ement  of  the  effects  of  contrasted 
colours,  and  his  production  from  the  slightest  and  least 
promising  materials  signal  and  novel  features,  even  in 
commonplace  objects,  should  be  traced  to  a  gift,  an 
innate  talent,  and  not  to  the  real  sources  of  his  success, 
the  true  and  correct  perception  of  which  he  saw,  and 


376  MAD  HUMANITY 

the  idealisation  of  what  he  felt j  of  the  impressions, 
in  short,  imparted  to  his  imagination.  To  the  stimu- 
lation and  exaltation  of  this  single  faculty  all  his 
energies  were  incessantly  directed,  and  all  his  acts, 
arrangements,  ambitions,  contributed,  to  the  exclusion 
of  other  and  ennobling  emotions,  sentiments,  and  trains 
of  thought.  ^This  mono-ideaism,  this  worship  of  the 
Sun-God  or  of  his  rays  shed  upon  the  earth,  animated 
him,  not  merely  wlien  among  tl>e  mountains  of  Swit- 
zerland, or  in  his  studio  when  consigning  the  outlines 
and  effulgence  of  these  mountains  and  their  corre- 
sponding lakes  to  his  canvas,  but  in  his  everyday  life 
when  contemplating  a  modern  mansion  or  mausoleum, 
and  survived  all  other  considerations  and  ties.  On  the 
very  verge  of  death  his  choice  of  a  dwelling  fell  upon 
a  shabby  cottage,  so  situated  that  it  commanded  a  view 
of  the  sunlight  on  a  river,  and  so  constructed  that  from 
its  flat  roof  he  could  witness,  and  did  witness,  until  his 
eyes  closed  in  darkness,  the  glories  of  sunrise.  ^  It  is 
remarkable,  when  the  intensity  and  elevation  of  his 
admiration   of   nature   in   her   OTandest   features   and 

o 

attitudes  is  analysed,  that  it  did  not  pass  into  adoration, 
and  that  the  devotee  did  not  create  for  himself  a  faith, 
a  religion,  a  worship.  But  that  he  never  reached  even 
to  Paganism  may  become  explicable,  when  it  is  under- 
stood that  he  seems  to  have  remained  i^jnorant  of  the 
laws  and  revelations  of  God,  of  the  dictates  and  duties 
of  even  worldly  morality,  and  of  the  highest,  the 
happier,  and  holier  instincts,  supports,  and  aspirations 
of  the  human  heart. 

The  most  propitious  event  in  his  youth  was  his 
pupilage  or  association  with  Sir  Joshua  Keynolds,  to 
whom  he  was  much  indel)ted  for  the  practical  details 


MADXESS  OF  GENIUS  377 

of  a  high  and  attractive  style  of  painting ;  but  deeper 
and  more  inspiring  impressions  were  imparted  by  his 
study  of  works  by  Vanderveldt  and  Claude,  and  of 
water-colour  drawings  by  English  masters,  with  whose 
modes  of  execution  and  successful  achievements  he 
maintained,  it  is  affirmed,  a  prolonged  and  imaginary 
warfare  in  competition  or  in  imitation,  or  in  fathoming 
the  depths  of  their  dexterities  and  beauties.  Of  his 
proceedings  as  a  student  in  the  Academy  we  know 
little,  but  in  manhood  and  in  old  age,  and  perhaps  in 
youth,  it  was  his  only  source  of  happiness,  his  home, 
his  altar,  where  he  sacrificed  his  life,  his  love,  his 
labours ;  whose  members  were,  with  one  exception, 
Lord  Egremont,  his  only  familiars  and  friends ;  and 
the  dinners  and  lunches  held  tliere  were  the  only 
means  of  hospitality  which  he  prized  or  enjoyed.  *  It , 
may  be  surmised  that  these  festivities  proved  a  snare 
to  an  individual  who  shut  himself  out  of  society,  who  \ 
was  by  nature  and  training  solitary ;  who  is  described 
as  hiding  himself,  because  he  could  not  mingle  with 
his  fellow-men  on  terms  of  equality ;  who  could  not 
converse,  and  who  spoke  only  by  his  brush ;  and 
ministered  to  a  craving  for  stimulants  originating  else- 
where, but  indulged  in  and  encouraged  it  as  a  mere 
coarse  propensity,  or  as  a  stimulus  to  prompt  or  rouse 
his  flasjfTjinsj  or  fatigued  imagination.  It  is  said  that 
during  his  daily  and  long-protracted  routine  of  painting 
in  his  galler}^  he  kept  beside  him,  and  so  far  depended 
upon,  a  bottle  of  sherry,  the  filth  and  ugliness  of  which 
disgusted  his  visitors  more  than  the  pernicious  effects 
of  its  contents.  It  is  likewise  said  that  when  going  to 
sea  with  fishermen  in  order  to  note  the  features  and 
caprices  of  the  waves  and  clouds,  for  he  was  indeed  a 


378  MAD  HUMANITY 

"  cloud-compeller "  as  well  as  a  Pantheist,  he  carried 
with  him  a  flask  of  gin,  that  he  might  see  or  feel 
under  an  excited  nervous  system.  A  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses, moreover,  deposed  that,  even  upon  what  are 
called  varnishing  days  in  the  Academy,  he  was  visibly 
under  the  effects  of  wine,  and  often  kept  a  decanter  of 
sherry  while  engaged  in  correcting  or  improving  his 
pictures,  or  when,  as  often  occurred,  commencing  and 
completing  a  production  already  hung  on  the  walls  of 
this  Pantheon,  although  only  in  outline ;  and  lastly,  in 
remodelling,  or  retinting  a  finished  work  in  order  to 
counteract,  or,  when  in  an  amicable  humour,  to 
enhance,  the  effects  of  the  surrounding  specimens  of 
art  exhibited.  Towards  the  meridian  and  evening  of 
life  this  destructive  habit,  with  the  debasing  con- 
comitants with  which  it  is  invariably  accompanied, 
obtained  a  mastery  over  prudence,  sound  taste,  and 
whatever  principle  may  have  from  time  to  time  in- 
fluenced his  contracted  mind  and  conscience,  which 
have  been  rashly  pronounced  by  an  analyst  as  ''  less 
than  human  " ;  for  when  his  weekly  toil,  or  what  was 
to  him  his  delightful  pursuit,  was  brought  to  a  close 
on  Saturday,  he  thrust  a  five -pound  note  into  his 
pocket,  rushed  to  some  of  his  vile  or  vicious  haunts  in 
Wapping  or  Ptotherhithe,  and  there  wallowed  in  mad 
or  maudlin  gratificationjimtil  summoned  by  his  better 
^*^"*'  genius  to  exercise  his  heaven-born  gifts.  These  re- 
""^^Ic  itfi^^  pulsive  narratives  are  not  given  that  the  Bacchanalian 
•j^  jU  may  be  condemned  or  moralised  over,  but  as  symptoms 
^yw^r^•iof  disease,  as  indications  of  brutal  appetites,  which 
^^^uJi^jit-^*^'  could  not  be  controlled,  and  which  simultaneously 
betrayed  and  fostered  that  lack  of  self-control,  in- 
tellectual resource,  and  native  dignity,  which  may  be 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  379 

detected  in  almost  all  liis  manifestations  imconnected 
with  his  professional  instincts  and  faculties.  But  the 
Academy  conferred  upon  him  greater  benefits  and 
advantages,  if  such  they  were,  than  consociation  and 
conviviality.  It  was  to  him  a  palatial  residence, 
enriched  and  ornamented  with  what  he  regarded  as 
the  most  beautiful  and  precious  objects  in  tlie  world. 
To  one  whose  paternal  home  was  obscure,  penurious, 
and  unsuggestive,  and  whose  nominal  residence  in 
St.  Anne  Street  was  a  dark,  dingy,  dirty,  and  fourtli- 
rate  workshop,  undusted  and  unwashed  for  j^ears,  and 
presenting,  except  on  the  walls  of  the  picture  gallery, 
unpleasant  evidence  of  neglect,  desertion,  and  dilapida- 
tion, the  large  and  lofty  and  cheerful  saloons  of  the 
Academy  must  have  proved  cheering,  even  exhilarating. 
Yet  in  this  dark  and  dingy  den,  as  it  has  been  called, 
were  afforded  traces  of  redeeming  qualities ;  occasionally 
a  beggar  was  spasmodically  relieved,  on  its  portal  lay  a 
pampered  pet  cat,  and  in  one  of  the  deserted  rooms,  fur- 
nished from  a  pawnbroker's,  was  a  large  menagerie  of 
cats  piotesting  in  favour  of  his  reputed  love  of  animals. 
This  temple  of  art,  the  Academy,  must  have  served 
to  him  as  a  club,  as  the  chief  point  at  which  he  came 
into  contact  with  his  fellow-men,  as  a  school  for 
thought  and  information,  yet  he  was  deplorably  ignor- 
ant on  common  topics ;  but  neither  here  nor  in  his 
studio,  where  he  laboured  incessantly  and  promptly, 
but  where  he  was  never  seen  at  work,  manifesting 
little  or  no  preparatory  cogitation,  nor  the  restlessness 
nor  indecision  of  incubation,  could  he  be  said  to  have 
lived.  In  fact,  his  most  prized  allies  had  no  concep- 
tion of  his  exact  abode,  and  at  last  he  disappeared 
altogether,   literally   leaving   and    taking    precautions 


380  MAD  HUMANITY 

that  he  should  not  leave  a  trace  behind,  and  was 
accidentally  discovered  on  his  death-bed.  His  absence 
was  not  caused  by  the  pursuit  of  either  art  or  amuse- 
ment. It  may  have  been  connected  with  certain  of 
his  immoralities,  but  it  is  a  sign  of  that  morbid  self- 
absorption  and  secretiveness  which  marked  and  marred 
his  whole  career.  His  preference  of  solitude,  his 
coldness  and  repulsiveness  even  to  his  peers,  his  self- 
negation,  his  spirit  of  mental  masquerading  when  he 
concealed  his  identity  and  resorted  to  impersonation, 
by  repeatedly  representing  himself  to  the  same  person 
as  being  a  Master  in  Chancery.  But  in  addition  to 
intercourse  with  kindred  spirits,  he  owed  to  the 
Academy  all  the  insight  into  literature  which  he  ever 
obtained.  ^His  intimates  are  confident  that  he  never 
read  any  other  book  more  closely  and  carefully  than 
Ovid's  Metamorplioses — that  from  this  source  flowed 
many  of  his  inspirations.  But  although  this  effort  of 
one  who  has  been  distinguished  as  the  "dumb  poet," 
as  being  able  "  to  think  only  with  his  eyes,"  as  well 
as  other  writings,  exhibits  great  ignorance  of  his  own 
language,  he  is  reported  to  have  attempted  a  speech ; 
to  have  enjoyed  animated  and  controversial  discussion, 
when  confined  to  art  or  collateral  matters ;  even  the 
prattle  of  children,  of  whose  presence  and  manners  he 
was  tolerant,  if  not  positively  fond,  in  strange  contradic- 
tion to  his  repulsion  and  rudeness  towards  all  except 
those  belonging  to  his  own  speciality,  and  even  to 
relatives,  whom,  however,  he  may  have  suspected  of 
sinister  and  greedy  expectations.  His  feelings  were 
at  all  times  roused  by  appeals  to  pecuniary  considera- 
tions, recalling  the  economy  and  penuriousness  wliich 
may  have  been  at  some   time   imperative,  but  which 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  381 

was  undoubtedly  an  hereditary  moral  taint.  Instances 
are  met  with  in  his  transactions  of  his  squabbling  over 
a  few  shillings,  the  price  of  a  packing-box,  at  the  very 
time  he  was  accepting  the  liberal,  perhaps  lavish  price 
of  one  of  his  pictures.  One  of  his  associates,  more 
disposed  to  sneer  than  to  compassionate,  gave,  as  an 
example  of  his  generosity,  that  Turner  upon  one 
occasion  paid  the  halfpenny  toll  at  Waterloo  Bridge 
for  him.  Were  this  tale  and  its  obvious  inferences 
substantiated,  it  might  be  counterbalanced  by  many 
anecdotes  of  self-denial  and  kindness,  chiefly  to  associ- 
ates, and  especially  in  rendering  manual  or  mechanical 
advice  or  assistance  in  the  completion  and  hanging  of 
their  paintings.  ^It  is  not  necessary  here  to  deal  with 
his  discharge  of  the  biUs_^of_  sym]ioaia^-or_ttEgigsj^tl^ 
his  fraternity,  as  it  might  find  an  explanation  in  his 
excitement  caused  by  wine ;  but  I  desire  to  mention 
his  splendid  donations  of  £20,000  and  £5000  to 
friends  or  patrons  whose  resources  were  at  the  time 
exhausted,  and  of  £300  to  an  individual  who  had 
explained  to  him  the  mysteries  of  the  Daguerreotype. 
It  must  be  confessed  that  these  acts  have  been  doubted, 
or  where  admitted  they  have  been  denounced  as 
loans,  as  investments,  where  there  was  a  certainty 
of  repayment,  if  not  of  gain.  But  even  recognising 
these  transactions  as  emanations  of  gratitude,  it  is 
suspected  that  they  may  have  been  dictated  by  that 
combined  meanness  and  munificence  which  has  been 
detected  in  diseased  and  contracted  minds,  where  a 
momentary,  perhaps  a  sinister,  impulse  may  override 
or  overturn  the  habits  and  motives  which  regulate 
conduct,  even  in  rejecting  the  tributes  and  triumphs 
oftered  to  his  genius.      When  he  received  two  offers  of 


382  MAD  HUMANITY 

£100,000  for  his  works  hoarded  iu  Queen  Anne 
Street,  and  £5000  for  his  two  pictures  of  Carthage; 
and,  above  all,  when  he  was  waited  upon  by  Mr. 
Griffiths,  on  behalf  of  a  distinguished  committee, 
among  whom  were  Sir  Robert  Peel,  Lord  Hardinge,  and 
others,  with  an  unconditional  offer  for  the  purchase  of 
his  whole  collection  on  behalf  of  the  nation ;  while  it 
is  possible  that  his  prompt  rejection  was  connected 
with  his  cherished  projects  of  erecting  a  retreat  for 
decayed  and  disabled  members  of  his  own  guild,  and 
of  erecting  a  monument  for  himself  in  St.  Paul's,  we 
can  likewise  see  in  it  that  appetite  for  hoarding,  that 
tendency  to  keep  whatever  has  belonged  to  the  in- 
dividual, whatever  has  been  made,  touched,  or  coveted 
by  him,  displayed  by  many  lunatics  and  by  many 
others  who  are  not  insane.  It  is  narrated  that  he 
disputed  with  a  shopman  in  order  to  repossess  himself 
of  a  scrap  of  paper  which  had  been  attached  to  one  of 
his  parcels. 

Mr.  Tremblay,  the  flower  painter,  who  lived  in  a 
needy  condition,  and  was  supposed  to  be  poverty- 
stricken,  was  found  on  his  death  to  be  in  possession  of 
a  trunk  which  was  filled  to  the  brim  with  gold  coins, 
chiefly  of  the  reigns  of  Napoleon  I.  and  Louis  XV. ; 
but,  as  a  numismatic  collector,  would  have  undergone 
the  severest  privations  rather  than  part  with  one  of 
his  treasures.  X  In  like  manner,  Turner  felt  the  pang 
of  a  parent  parting  with  a  child  on  disposing  of  a 
picture,  declined  to  sell  many,  bought  back  others, 
and  although  he  has  been  accused  of  raising  the  price 
of  those  exposed  to  auction  by  proxy  bidders,  it  may 
be  surmised  that  his  object  was  to  enhance  his  reputa- 
tion, or  even  to  defeat  an  appreciating  customer.     It 


MADNESS  OF  CxENIUS  383 

is  certain  that  his  retention  of  so  many  household  gods 
around  him  cannot  have  been  for  the  purpose  of 
admiring  them,  as  very  many  stood  with  their  backs 
to  the  light  in  his  gallery,  and  covered  with  the 
accumulated  dust  of  scores  of  years.  Indeed,  so  pro- 
lific w^as  his  imagination  and  powers  of  production, 
that  it  cannot  be  believed  his  Polytheism  extended, 
in  memory  even,  to  a  portion  of  the  objects  of  his 
solicitude  and  ^vorship,  as,  in  twenty  years  alone, 
eighty  of  his  pictures  were  exhibited  in  the  Academy, 
and,  in  the  same  time,  500  engravings  were  published 
from  his  drawings.  It  has  been  the  fashion  with  the 
followers  and  partisans  of  this  great  leader  to  express 
sympathy  with  him  as  an  unfortunate,  disappointed, 
ill-used  man.  With  this  estimate  I  cannot  agree,  as, 
apart  from  the  possible  hardships  of  his  youth,  his 
own  misdoings  and  misadventures,  his  unfruitful  love 
passages,  which  are  purely  conjectural,  and  the  non- 
recognition  of  his  claims  to  the  Presidential  Chair  of 
the  Academy,  which,  however,  it  is  confessed  that  he 
was  both  by  mind  and  manners  ill-fitted  to  occupy, 
there  is  little  to  mourn  over  in  his  lot.  He  was,  in 
truth,  eminently  favoured  and  fortunate  and  successful ; 
he  created  surroundings  in  keeping  with  his  tastes  and 
tendencies.  *-  He  w^as  the  idol  of  all  who  could  ap- 
preciate his  powers,  even  of  those  whom  he  shunned, 
repelled,  and  insulted.  He  accumulated  the  enormous 
sum  of  £140,000  in  cash,  apart  from  the  value  of  his 
property  in  pictures ;  and  he  had  attained  to  the  very 
pinuacle  of  human  fame  and  glory.  His  decline,  both 
in  the  exercise  of  his  talents  and  in  his  frame  and 
health,  was  gradual  and  palpable  to  the  few  with  whom 
he  latterly  came   into  contact.     He  disappeared    for 


384  MAD  HUMANITY 

months,  and  is  supposed  to  have  become  more  and  more 
addicted  to  stimulants,  and  died  in  an  obscure  suburb 
under  the  pseudonym  of  Admiral  or  Puggy  Booth, 
conferred  by  the  gamins  of  the  street,  but  not  re- 
pudiated by  himself. 

Moral  Insanity  (George  Morland,  1763-1804). — 
Suffered  from  moral  insanity.  There  is  a  history  of 
an  uninterrupted  course  of  debauchery,  wretchedness, 
and  squalor,  until,  ruined  in  health  and  in  purse,  he  died 
at  the  age  of  forty-two.  He  was  the  son  of  a  painter 
of  some  talent.  iCHe  painted  in  all  upwards  of  4QQQ 
pictures,  and  he  had  great  fertility  and  facility  in  the 
reproduction  of  his  favourite  haunts.  »  When  but  a 
youth,  he  became  the  victim  to  every  form  of  dissipa- 
tion and  defilement,  and  chose  as  intimate  associates 
prize-fighters  and  men  of  low  degree.  It  has  been  said 
of  him  that,  though  he  died  unhonoured  and  unsung, 
and  that  while  the  man  was  utterly  forgotten,  his 
works  are  still  valued  and  valuable. 

Congenital  Cretinism  (Gottfried  Kund,  the  cat 
Raphael  of  the  nineteenth  century). — He  belonged  to 
a  Cretinoid  family,  and  was  of  a  low  type.  He  is 
described  as  a  queer,  roundabout  manikin  with  a  large, 
pyramidal  head,  thatched  with  long  masses  of  hair,  an 
oval  face,  small  round  eyes,  widely  separated,  a  short, 
squat  body  with  a  vast  paunch,  resting  upon  dwarfish 
legs,  which  almost  described  semicircles.  His  chin 
was  globular,  but  unbearded ;  his  thumbs  and  fingers 
were  rounded  knobs,  and  in  front  of  his  throat  and 
pendulous  over  his  breast  hung  a  tumour  of  more  life- 
like colour  than  his  sallow  cheeks.  Neither  this 
goitre,  or  bronchocele,  nor  rachitis  is  an  invariable  sign 
or  concomitant  of  the  physical  deterioration,  although 


MADNESS  OF  GEXIUS  385 

the  former  is  so  frequent  that  glandular  swellings  have 
been  observed  in  the  lower  animals.  It  is  understood 
that  Gottfried  Kund  was  deaf  as  well  as  a  dullard ; 
he  spoke  little  and  inarticulately,  and  exhibited  few 
manifestations  even  of  natural  language,  except  in 
connection  with  his  favourite  and  famous  pursuit. 
Yet  to  this  decrepit  and  imperfect  creature  might  be 
applied  the  epithet  used  by  Dr.  Johnson  in  speaking 
of  Goldsmith,  that  he  was  "  an  inspired  idiot."  that  he 
possessed  powers  almost  unrivalled  or  unequalled,  but 
exercised  in  so  narrow  a  circle  as  to  betray  their 
morbid  origin.  He  loved,  and  lived  with,  and  painted 
cats  from  the  time  he  was  a  child  until  the  time  his 
Memoir  was  written,  when  he  was  thirty  years  old. 
He  drew  thousands  of  these  creatures;  he  scratched 
figures  like  theirs  with  flints  upon  the  rocks  and  the 
ice  almost  as  soon  as  he  could  walk.  +  There  were  *^ 
cats  in  sorrow  and  in  anger,  sensible  and  foolish  cats, 
cats  of  character  and  imbecile  cats,  and  even  a  cat 
with  a  goitre,  but  all  bore  a  strong  though  faint 
resemblance  to  a  typical  cat,  which  was  in  all  prob- 
ability the  first  which  had  arrested  his  early  perception. 
His  works  are  still  found  in  the  galleries  Of  Dresden 
and  elsewhere.  His  nervous  system  was  most  deficient, 
and  though  everything  was  done  by  training  and 
disciplining,  it  failed  to  remove  this  state  of  affairs. 
Notwithstanding  all  this,  there  was  the  genius  which  I 
have  already  alluded  to.  It  was  surmised  that  he 
died  at  Berne  in  Switzerland,  to  which  place  he  had 
gone  to  fraternise  with  the  bears,  and  to  dispose  of  his 
pictures. 

The   very  infancy  of  genius  is    often  marked   by 
eccentric  behaviour.  y^Michael  Angelo  was  considered 

2  c 


386  MAD  HUMANITY 

a  divine  madman,  whilst  Oliver  Goldsmith  was 
designated  as  an  inspired  idiot.  *  The  eccentricity  of 
genius  often  evidences  itself  by  a  mere  abstraction,  a 
sort  of  brown  study,  in  which  the  mind  is  so  absorbed 
with  the  intensity  of  its  creation.  The  stories  extant 
of  Pliny,  Archemides,  and  N'ewton  are  illustrations  of 
this  passive  eccentricity,  this  reverie  of  genius.  It  is 
no  wonder  that  hallucinations  of  seeing,  or  illusions, 
should  form  such  a  prominent  characteristic  in  genius, 
inasmuch  as  the  w^orkings  of  the  imaginative  mind 
are  but  one  continued  and  protracted  course  of  ideal 
creation.  Shakespeare  has  affirmed  that  the  lunatic, 
the  lover,  and  the  poet 

"  Are  of  imagination  all  compact." 

The  solemn  figure  which  induced  Mozart  to  write 
the  Eequiem,  which  was  first,  indeed,  chanted  over 
his  own  grave,  was  doubtless  but  a  phantom  of  his 
own  creation.  The  etiology  of  monomania  and  of 
its  converse,  "  folie  raisonante,"  are  of  deep  interest, 
as  they  occur  in  contemplative  or  scientific  minds. 
The  questions  might  illuminate  each  other ;  as  in  the 
one  there  seems  to  be  a  mad  point,  and  in  the  other  a 
sane  point  in  the  brain.  In  the  highly  intellectual 
mind  we  are  presented  wdth  a  dark  spot  or  phantom, 
in  a  maniacal  brain  we  may  sometimes  observe  a  lucid 
spot,  from  w^hich  may  emanate  one  of  the  higher 
faculties  of  the  intellect.  •  Some  of  the  ablest  articles 
are  frequently  written  by  inmates  of  lunatic  asylums, 
and  I  have  seen  some  of  the  most  ingenious  inventions 
emanating:  from  the  brain  of  a  lunatic  whilst  in  con- 
finement  in  an  asylum. 

Having  described  the  creative  genius  of  the  poet 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  387 

and  the  artist,  and  its  connection  with  madness,  I  now 
pass  on  briefly  to  consider  that  of  the  actor,  whose  art 
is  equally  as  great  and  imaginative  as  either  of  the 
others.  -^  There  are,  at  the  present  day,  according  to 
statistics  which  I  have  before  me,  13,717  male,  and 
5192  female  persons  engaged,  directly  or  indirectly,  in 
the  drama.  >^The  yearly  number  of  actors,  taking  an 
average  of  the  last  five  years,  who  have  gone  mad  are 
thirteen  males  and  nine  females,  and,  I  think,  taking 
everything  into  consideration,  that  this  may  be  con- 
sidered to  be  a  small  one. 

^It  has  been  a  much  debateable  question  as  to 
whether  the  constant  performance  of  the  same  char- 
acter, night  after  night,  might  not  act  detrimentally 
on  the  brain,  but  there  are  a  few  of  such  cases  on 
record.  To  impersonate  a  character  correctly  is  of  the 
greatest  interest,  and  the  continuance  to  depict  the 
same  character  in  some  cases  might  act  injuri- 
ously on  a  nervous  system  predisposed  to  mental 
disorder.  The  actor,  for  the  time  being,  sinks  into  a 
condition  oblivious  to  everything,  except  the  part  he  is 
representing;  he  forgets  his  personal  identity,  and  is 
converted  into  the  ideal  which  he  is  for  the  moment, 
and  thinks,  feels,  and  acts  in  a  manner  in  which  he 
conceives  the  original  would  have  done.  Of  course 
there  are  times  when  the  impersonators  of  characters 
become,  to  a  certain  extent,  automatic,  and  go  through 
their  part  artificially,  whilst  at  others  they  become  the 
creatures  of  their  own  imagination.  Macready  used 
to  say  that  on  one  night  he  played,  or  attempted  to 
play,  Macbeth,  whilst  on  a  subsequent  night  he 
succeeded,  because  he  was  Macbeth.  When  super- 
ficially analysed,  this  capacity  to  identify  an  actor  with 


388  MAD  HUMANITY 

passions  or  feelings  seems  to  consist  in  the  exercise  of 
that  faculty  which  controls  and  conceals  the  persoDal 
thoughts  and  tendencies,  and  substitutes  for  them  the 
manifestations  of  another  character.  ^  The  most  marked 
feature  of  such  a  power  is  an  instinctive  tendency  to 
conceal  our  thoughts  and  emotions,  and  to  impress 
upon  others  thoughts  altogether  distinct  and  incon- 
sistent with  what  might  be  expected  to  be  presented  to 
thfr  consciousness  of  the  actor. 

According  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  when  Napoleon  con- 
ceived himself  to  be  closely  observed,  he  had  the  power 
of  concealing  from  his  countenance  all  expression,  save 
:  that  of  a  vague  and  indefinite  smile,  and  presenting  to 
the  curious  investigator  the  fixed  eyes  and  rigid  features 
'  of  a  marble  bust.      But  there  are  more  profound,  and 
what  may  be  styled  transitive  states  of  this  metem- 
psychosis, which,  to   a   certain   extent    and   for   brief 
periods  of  time,  abrogate    or   limit   the    functions   of 
the  will,  and  the  regulations  of  thought  and  action, 
and  which  approach  very  closely  the  confines  of  mor- 
bidity. 
^       -.It  is  recorded  of  the  celebrated  Mrs.  Siddons  that, 
'*''*'**^*^  after  enacting  certain  of  her  most  difiicult   and   im- 
J****'*jfc    passioned  characters,  in  which  she  had  so  identified  her- 
5  -  self  with  the  articulate  history  of  the  part  represented, 

that  she  could  not  disembarrass,  or  denude  herself  of 
the  look,  the  gait,  the  gesticulations,  and,  what  is  more 
strikiuGj,  of  the  sentiments  and  emotions  which  she  had 
simulated  before  her  audience.  This  possession,  this 
merging  of  herself  in  the  ideas  which  she  had  described, 
or  rather  had  imparted,  continued  for  hours,  during  which 
she  walked  to  and  fro,  casting  off,  portion  by  portion, 
the   mental   deception  or  innocent  perversion   of  her 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  389 

own  nature,  which  she  had  worn  as  she  did  the  articles 
from  her  wardrobe.  It  is  not  affirmed  that  she  ceased 
to  be  in  her  own  knowledge  and  conviction  Mrs. 
Siddons,  or  that  she  failed  to  recognise  her  surroundings, 
or  to  recollect  the  events  preceding  and  about  to  follow 
existing  circumstances ;  but  it  is  asserted  that  she  had 
so  entered  into,  and  had  become  one  with,  an  ideal 
personage,  that  she  could  not  cast  off  the  sentiments, 
the  bearing,  and  the  moral  portraiture  which  she  had 
assumed,  nor  regain  her  original  self  and  return  to  the 
more  commonplace  doings  and  duties  imposed  upon 
her. 

W.  Murray,  formerly  the  manager  of  the  Theatre 
Eoyal,  Edinburgh,  was  a  man  of  exquisite  comic  and 
simulative  or  secretive  power.  One  evening,  imme- 
diately after  the  performance,  he  was  suddenly  seized 
with  indisposition,  and  uttered  \vords  which  were 
regarded  as  incoherent.  His  medical  adviser,  who 
narrated  the  incident,  arrived  to  find  the  whole 
dramatic  corps  in  a  state  of  wdld  agitation  and  alarm. 
Volatile  salts  had  been  freely  scattered  around,  feathers 
had .  been  burnt,  but  the  terrified  man  was  still  fixed 
in  a  chair  close  to  the  footlidits,  razimr  in  fear  and 
perplexity  on  the  darkened  cavern  of  the  pit,  and  the 
weird  and  shabby  scenes  and  wardrobes,  now  deprived 
of  all  the  make-shifts  that  render  them  attractive.  He 
saw  his  physician  without  recognising  his  w^ell-known 
features,  and  continued  to  shout  or  sigh  or  whisper, 
"  I  can't  get  out !  I  can't  get  out."  He  had  been 
playing  the  part  of  Midas,  and  was  apparelled  in  the 
tight-fitting  leather  dress  and  head  cowl,  with  the  long 
nodding  ears  shaking  at  every  semi-convulsive  perturbed 
movement,  which  is  always  w^orn  on  such  occasions. 


390  MAD  HUMANITY 

His  restlessness  and  cries  continued  for  some  time,  but 
at  length  the  moral  medicine  of  the  gentle,  persuasive 
voice  of  the  doctor  had  its  desired  influence,  and 
serenity  and  silence  were  established;  but  there 
remained  for  a  time  a  perplexed  and  half-conscious 
condition,  in  which  he  knew  that  something  extra- 
ordinary had  occurred,  but  in  which  memory  supplied 
solely  the  conviction  that  he  was  Midas,  and  that  his 
thoughts,  his  future  career,  and  his  doom  must  be  that 
of  Midas.  His  terror  originated  in  the  thraldom  of 
this  metamorphosis. 

It  is  conceived  that  many  of  our  tragedians  who  have 
been  the  most  successful,  and  the  conception  may  be 
justifiably  extended  to  all  distinguished  players,  have 
been  those  whoJ)uried  their  own  personality  in  the  attri- 
butes of  another ;  and  that  to  exercise  the  paramount, 
even  tyrannical,  influence  of  Isabella,  Mrs.  Haller,  or 
Lady  Macbeth,  over  the  hearts,  heads,  eyes,  and  percep- 
tions of  a  miscellaneous  crowd,  they  must  be  endowed 
with  some  degree  or  modification  of  this  impersonating 
faculty. 

But  this  gift  has  not  been  confined  exclusively 
to  those  distinguished  in  histrionic  art,  who  may 
be  fairly  said  to  have  been  taught  and  trained  in 
shrouding  their  own  lineaments  under  a  mask  of 
widely  different  aspect  and  proportions.  In  a  volume 
designated  Mi/stifications,  published  some  years  ago, 
there  are  presented  eight  or  ten  scenes,  in  which  a  lady 
of  high  culture  and  lofty  lineage  completely  outwitted 
many  of  her  most  able,  astute,  and  imaginative 
countrymen,  several  of  whom  had  been  warned,  or 
rather  threatened  with  the  hoax  of  which  it  was 
intended  they  should  be  the  victim.     Among    those 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  391 

subjected  to  this  ordeal  were  Lord  Jeffrey,  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  and  others.  The  temptress  affected  but  one  role. 
She  was  always  an  old  lady  scrupulously  attired  in  the 
dress  of  sixty  years  ago,  always  a  Jacobite,  and  always 
armed  with  subjects  and  stories  and  mirthful  anecdotes 
suited  to  the  taste  of  her  auditor,  and  calculated  to 
blind  and  mystify  his  perceptions.  It  is  worthy  of 
note  that,  while  completely  withdrawing  her  individual 
characteristics  from  observation,  and  while  leading  astray 
those  whom  she  addressed  into  what  appeared  real,  but 
were  fabulous  circumstances,  and  while  able  to  change  or 
disguise  her  features  so  as  to  resemble  any  one  but 
herself,  thus  obliterating  her  individual  expression, 
there  sometimes  passed  over  the  mind  of  the  listener 
or  spectator  that  both  Mrs.  Ogle  of  Balbogle,  the  oddity 
impersonated,  and  her  original  representative  were 
both  in  the  room. 

Should  a  more  extensive  view  be  taken  of  the 
education,  manners,  and  history  of  those  public  ser- 
vants who  afford  such  exquisite  pleasure,  and  some- 
times such  solemn  and  valuable  lessons  to  the  public, 
important  data  may  be  obtained  concerning  the 
morbific  proclivities  which  they  inevitably  imbibe. 
Several  of  our  eminent  heroes  of  the  buskin  have  left 
their  military  or  naval  ranks  in  order  to  seek  fame 
and  fortune  in  a  dramatic  corps.  But  a  considerable 
proportion  of  members  of  travelling  troupes  have  first 
seen  the  light,  and  their  earliest  impressions,  in  a 
booth,  or  caravan,  or  in  some  half- ruined  building 
in  a  town.  They  emerge  from  a  nursery  where  im- 
pecuniosity  mingled  with  bare  or  squalid  properties, 
where  there  was  a  frequent  hurried  and  moonlight 
change   of  residence,  where  every  event   imparted  a 


392  MAD  HUMANITY 

degree  of  precarioiisness  aud  adventure  to  the  family^ 

history.     The  children  of  the  troupe  could  not  avoid 

being  imitators  from  their  swaddling  clothes.      They 

must   have   strutted   their   brief  hour   on   the   stage 

as  soon  as  they  could  totter,  and    they  must   have 

breathed  the  same  moral  air  as  their  relatives  and 

tutors.     Even  in  the  higher  walks  of  the  profession, 

where   many   comforts    and   even    luxuries   surround 

childhood  or  youth,  there  must  have  been  the  same 

unintentional    but    powerful    communication    of    the 

opinions,  hopes,  fears,  pleasures,  and  objects  of  those 

around.       Even    when    pecuniary   considerations    are 

constantly  obtruding,  the  great  aim  of  such  a  society  ^ 

must  be  public  distinction ;  its  members  crave,  solicit, 

pant  for  praise  and  plaudits;  their  days  are  occupied 

I  in  tlie  unhealtfiy  preparation  for  the  evening  display, 

I  in  committing  to  memory  thousands  of  lines  of  writers 

I  but  imperfectly  understood ;  in  the  reiteration  of  the 

I  same  phrases,  sometimes  for  a  hundred  nights  in  suc- 

I  cession ;  in  acquiring  certain  attitudes,  expressions  of 

I  face  or  figure,  and  in  removing  as  many  of  the  traces 

I  of  their  own  aspect  and  individuality  as  possible,  in 

I  2£der  tosecure  the  wonder  or  admiration   of  those 

I  whom  they  desire  to  impress.^  When  the  actor  has  *- 

attained   a   prominent  place  amongst  his  fellows,  he 

does  not  escape  from  these  contagious  influences.  ¥.His 

habits,  both  of  thought  and  action,  are  comparatively 

artificial ;  he  inhales  a  sort  of  intoxicating  gas,  and 

moves  through  the  work-a-day  world  with  fewer  ties 

and  connections,  than  with   the  realm  of  fancy  or  the 

romantic — at  all  events,  unreal  existence.      It  would 

be    absurd    to    suppose   that   persons   so    constituted 

generally    pass    into    the   condition    which    has   been 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  393 

^escribed  as  presented  in  Mrs.  Siddons ;  V)ut  it  may 
be  confidently  stated  that  the  player  rarely  ceases  to 
be  the  player,  that  he  cannot  entirely  dispel  the  strut, 
the  stare,  the  speech,  and  many  of  the  peculiarities 
which  he  has  laboured  to  incorporate  with  his  own 
nature,  and  of  the  predominance  of  which  he  may  be 
entirely  ignorant.  j(It  is,  however,  gratifying  to  know 
that,  notwithstanding  the  unhealthy  education  to 
which  this  class  of  men  has  been  subjected,  and  not- 
withstanding the  pernicious  effects  which  unavoidably 
flow  from  the  course  pursued,  while  all,  or  the  great 
majority,  have  acquired  elevated,  extravagant,  and 
non-natural  dispositions  and  manners,  that  few  have 
passed  the  border-line  of  sanity,  or  have  become  the 
victims  of  forms  of  nervous  disorder,  obviously  origin- 
ating in  their  art  and  occupation. 

Charles  Macklin,  1690. — This  actor  did  not  hold 
a  very  prominent  position  until  the  latter  half  of  the 
past  century.  His  first  appearance  was  in  the  play 
of  The  Orphan.  He  was  a  great  gambler,  and  his 
success  led  him  into  extravagance  and  profligacy.  He 
ultimately  attained  the  highest  reputation,  and  secured 
the  gratitude  of  the  admirers  of  Shakespeare  by  re- 
deeming the  part  of  Shylock  from  the  base  and 
degraded  cast  in  which,  until  then,  it  had  been  per- 
formed. The  reproduction  of  the  play,  and  the 
distinction  he  had  attained,  are  traced  to  two  circum- 
stances, the  ruin  of  one  manager  and  the  usurpation 
of  another,  and  the  sneering  criticism  circulated  by 
his  friends.  7(^Connected  with  this  incident  is  the 
melancholy  fact  that  his  eccentricity  ultimately,  after 
this  triumph,  merged  into  dementia.  He  had  dressed 
for  his  favourite  character,  but  forgot  altogether  the 


394  MAD  HUMANITY 

play  in  which  he  had  formed  a  conspicuous  feature. 
He  then  became  associated  with  Garrick,  who  was 
then  a  rising  actor ;  this  friendship  involved  various 
professional  transactions,  but  ultimately  ended  in  a 
rupture,  and  his  exclusion  from  Drury  Lane  Theatre 
without  money  or  prospects  for  the  future.  Macklin, 
after  this,  went  rapidly  from  theatre  to  theatre,  from 
London  to  Dublin,  from  company  to  company,  offend- 
ing and  quarrelling  with  nearly  every  person  he 
came  in  contact  with,  especially  every  manager,  in 
consequence  of  Jiis_  arrogance  and  infirmity  of  teiuper. 
Old  age,  and  probably  the  death  of  his  daughter,  asso- 
ciated with  his  original  lack  of  mental  balance, 
brought  on  his  final  mental  degeneration,  which 
culminated  in  his  forgetting  the  part  of  Shylock  when 
on  the  stage.  When  realising  imperfectly  the  duties 
assigned  to  him,  the  poor  old  man  went  on  the  stage, 
and  having  spoken  portions  of  the  dialogue,  without 
evidently  understanding  the  meaning  of  what  he  w^as 
saying,  he  suddenly  remarked,  "  I  can  do  no  more," 
glanced  helplessly  around  him,  and  retired  for  the 
last  time.  He  never  attempted  to  act  again,  and 
ultimately  dwindled  into  a  condition  of  senile  de- 
mentia.4^  He  lived  to  the  age  of  one  hundred  and 
seven,  so  it  is  stated,  and  this  therefore  shows  that 
the  continuous  hardships  which  actors  have  to  endure 
is  compatible  with  old  age. 

Francois  Joseph  Talma,  1763. — He  was  the  great 
friend  of  John  Kemble,  and  was  born  in  France,  but 
educated  in  England.  He  made  a  great  success  in 
Macbeth  and  Hamlet  in  England,  but  his  category  of 
subjects  was  very  large.  It  is  stated  that  he  was 
prepared  to  introduce  upon  the  stage  twenty-one  new 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  395 

characters,  surrounding  each  with  a  halo  of  glory,  im- 
parted alike  by  his  own  imagination.  He  had  remark- 
able power  over  his  audiences ;  he  was  a  great  actor, 
though  he  was  not  appreciated  so  much  in  France  as 
he  was  in  England.  He  was  subject  to  squint,  but 
whether  this  was  congenital,  or  a  sequel  to  some 
brain  disease,  I  do  not  know.  He  suffered  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Eevolution  with  a  nervous  affec- 
tion, complicated  by  hallucinations ;  he  evidently  did 
not  realise  his  condition,  and  when  partially  recovered 
he  began  again  to  act.  Whenever  he  trod  the  stage, 
and  gazed  upon  the  assembled  crowds,  he  looked  ap- 
parently into  vacancy,  not  realising  that  they  were 
human  beings.  Tliere  grinned  before  him,  or  sat  mute 
and  motionless,  a  living  crowd  of  skeletons  which  he 
was  apparently  able,  notwithstanding  the  awe  and 
superstition,  to  see  distinctly  and  to  recognise.  His 
power  of  self-command,  however,  was  so  great  that  he 
was  able  to  proceed  with  his  part,  betraying  no  emotion, 
as  if  unconscious  of  his  supernatural  assemblage. 

Monrose. — This  actor  was  at  one  time  an  ornament 
of  the  French  stage,  but  in  consequence  of  overwork 
and  over-excitement  his  brilliant  powers  were  obscured 
by  disease,  from  which  he  never  recovered.  The 
peculiar  part  of  his  morbid  condition  was  not  merely 
the  loss  of  his  own  personality,  but  the  engrafting  of 
his  favourite  character  upon  his  ordinary  condition. 
He  actually  imagined  himself  to  be  the  real  characters 
which  he  was  impersonating.  He  was  placed  in  an 
asylum,  and  was  liberated  for  a  single  night  in  order 
to  participate  in  his  own  benefit.  On  this  occasion  he 
was  allowed  to  act  the  part  of  Figaro,  and  his  memory 
and  bearing  were  perfect  until  he  was  required  to  utter 


396  MAD  HUMANITY 

the  words,  II  estfou,  when  the  poor  demented  man,  as 
if  suddenly  struck  by  the  accidental  allusion  to  his 
own  misfortune,  betrayed  intense  sorrow^,  and  retired 
never  to  return  again.  Though  there  are  many  people 
often  found  in  asylums  who  labour  under  the  delusion 
that  they  are  kings  or  great  potentates,  notwith- 
standing this  delusion  of  grandeur  they  never  lose  the 
perception  of  their  original  identity,  nor  of  their  real 
origin.  Monrose  apparently  did,  for,  in  imagining 
that  he  was  Figaro,  he  completely  forgot  his  own  per- 
sonality. 

It  is  related  of  the  famous  Mrs.  Glover,  who  was 
the  daughter  of  Betterton,  that  while  her  infant  feet 
trod  the  stage,  her  earliest  recollections  must  have 
arisen  in  a  theatre,  and  almost  her  last  hour  of  con- 
sciousness was  on  the  stage. 

Coralie  Walton,  1830. — Every  member  of  a  cor2)s 
clramatique  in  the  olden  time,  whether  he  emerged 
from  a  booth  or  barn  in  a  village  fair  or  market,  or 
had  been  familiar  with  the  mirrored,  curtained,  car- 
peted, luxurious  green-room  provided  for  the  artistes 
of  Covent  Garden,  passed  his  life,  and  acquired  and 
practised  his  profession  in  a  non-natural  and  artificial 
condition.  He  rarely  enjoyed  the  privilege  and  ad- 
vantage of  a  regular  training,  or  the  initiation  of  a 
quiet  and  sedate  occupation.  His  education  was 
carried  on  and  completed  on  the  stage  by  rehearsals 
and  public  representations,  accompanied  by  private 
study.  His  reading  was  confined  to  the  authors 
whose  words  he  had  to  commit  to  memory,  and  whose 
sentiments  he  must  realise  in  his  mind,  in  his  heart, 
and  bearing.^'  His  associations  were  unreal;  his  com- 
panions generally  of  the  same  excitable  or  imaginative 


MADNESS  OF  GEXIUS  397 

type  as  himself  ;  the  rewards  of  his  exertions  or  success 
were  the  applause  and  approbation  of  his  simulated 
passions,  patriotism,  or  merriment ;  and  his  position  in 
society,  until  lately,  was  still  uncertain,  undignified, 
and  kept  him  on  the  outside  of  those  ranks  and  grades 
upon  whose  patronage  and  pleasure  he  depended. 
Things  are  changed  as  to  this  now,  and  the  profession 
of  an  actor  ranks  as  equal  with  that  of  any  other 
honourable  one,  and  we  have  to  thank  many  leading 
members  of  the  dramatic  world  for  this  improvement. 
An  actor  sees  and  knows  the  world  through  the  foot- 
lights. yC^  His  intercourse  with  his  fellow-men  is  chieHy 
when  they  cheer  his  assumed  greatness,  wit,  or  extra- 
vagance, or  when  they  denounce  and  hiss  his  feeble- 
ness or  failure.  i<  He  generally  breathes  an  atmosphere 
of  intoxicating  gas,  forms  a  judgment  of  the  world 
and  its  ways  from  the  authors  who  furnish  him  with 
thoughts  and  opinions,  as  well  as  with  bread,  and  is 
^  very  apt  to  conceive  that  happiness  and  the  realisation 
of  ambition  is  prefigured  and  shadowed  forth  in  the 
theatre  when  brilliantly  lighted  up,  and  in  the  feelings 
which  attend  his  own  brief  hour  upon  the  stage,  -yt  He 
not  only  acquires  the  strut  and  the  swagger  which 
conventionally  have  been  identified  with  the  heroes  of 
the  buskin,  but  the  stilted  phraseology  and  modes  of 
thinking  which  characterise  his  range  of  study,  i  This 
state  of  the  mental  constitution  may  not  sometimes 
amount  positively  to  unhealth,  but  it  is  liable  to 
create  an  utterly  fictitious  conception  of  the  institu- 
tions of  society,  and  of  the  every-day  life  by  which  we 
are  surrounded. 

These  men,  thus  moulded,  do  not   actually  speak 
in  blank  verse,  nor  act  the  part  of  patrons,  or  poten- 


398  MAD  HUMANITY 

tates,  or  merry  -  andrews,  in  their  intercourse  with 
others,  but  many  of  them  see  or  seek  for  romance  and 
the  creations  of  fancy  in  the  practical  and  prosaic 
rehations  of  life.  The  suspicion  that  this  tendency 
may  influence  their  cogitations  and  be  transfused 
into  their  compositions,  as  well  as  into  their  con- 
versations, has  led  one  to  receive  with  some  doubt 
and  caution  a  narrative  of  the  life  and  death  of 
Coralie  Walton.  Yet  this  Memoir,  partly  histri- 
onic and  partly  historic,  has  been  published  on  the 
authority  of  a  distinguished  and  trustworthy  writer, 
who  was  himself,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  hero  of 
the  tragedy.  The  heroine,  Coralie  Walton,  is  de- 
scribed as  being  very  beautiful,  but  reserved  and 
dignified  in  her  manner.  She  is  first  seen  at  a  re- 
hearsal, where  she  displays  a  perfect  knowledge  of  her 
part,  and  the  regular  business  of  the  stage.  Having 
won  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the  public,  and  that  of  the 
manager  of  the  company  to  which  she  belonged,  she 
was  promoted  to  the  position  of  leading  actress. 
Her  history  and  antecedents,  without  affectation  of 
concealment,  she  seemed  to  confine  to  secrecy  and 
mystery.  Her  obliging  disposition  seems  to  have 
tempted  her  employer  to  impose  extra  duties,  which 
revealed,  in  technical  language,  how  "  quick  she  was 
in  study  "  ;  how  voluntarily  she  devoted  her  nights  in 
order "  to  get  up  a  new  part,"  and  her  cheerfulness 
and  fidelity  in  these  exertions, — qualities  which  em- 
boldened her  superior  to  allude  to  her  former  experi- 
ence and  to  her  home,  an  experiment  which  provoked 
a  passionate  demand  that  he  should  never  allude  to 
her  home  again.  The  obvious  conclusion  was  that 
she    had    some    reason  and  object   in   shrouding  her 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  399 

previous  career,  whether  theatrical  or  in  the  busy 
walks  of  commonplace  work,  in  obscurity ;  and  it  is 
highly  probable  that  this  constant  effort  to  elude 
discovery  may  have  had  an  important  and  deteriorat- 
ing influence  upon  her  mental  and  physical  constitu- 
tion,*ffor  there  is  truth  in  the  psychological  conclusion 
that  the  effort  to  limit  our  thoughts  and  feelings  to 
our  own  thoughts  and  consciences,  to  dwell  subjectively 
upon  a  hoarded  grief  or  shame  or  sorrow,  is  injurious 
to  health,  and  in  the  poetical  confession : — 

"  I  have  a  secret  sorrow  here, 
A  grief  I'll  ne'er  impart, 
It  heaves  no  sigh,  it  sheds  no  tear. 
But  it  consumes  my  heart." 

She  is  depicted  as  Virginia,  "  the  perfection  of 
girlish  beauty,  the  type  of  classic  grace,  the  ideal  of 
feminine  softness,  all  tinged  and  shaded  by  a  pervading 
sadness,"  as  displaying  a  perfect  acquaintance  with  the 
lines  of  the  poet,  as  entering  into  the  tragic  character 
of  her  part,  but  as  betraying  tremor  and  agitation 
whenever  either  approaches  or  allusions  to  love  scenes 
occurred.  Insensibility  follows  the  more  exciting 
passages,  and  it  is  observed  that  the  repeated  appli- 
cation of  a  handkerchief  to  her  lips  is  to  stanch  the 
appearance  of  blood.  In  Desdemona  she  is  equally 
successful,  but  is  equally  abhorrent  of  all  the  tenderer 
and  impassioned  incidents,  and  in  this  instance  recoils 
from  the  writer  of  the  recital,  who  acted  Othello;  but 
is  so  calm  and  cold  and  still,  that  in  the  death  swoon 
he  is  paralysed  by  the  apprehension  that  she  is  actually 
dead ;  and  he  tests  his  fear  during  the  action  of  the 
scene  by  placing  his  hand  upon  her  heart,  but  to  add 


400  MAD  HUMANITY 

to  the  seeming  reality  of  the  crisis  the  lady  utters  not 
the  required  farewell  injunction,  nor  any  response,  but 
remains  mute  and  motionless  even  after  Othello  has 
used  his  poniard,  and  proves  to  have  actually  fainted 
either  from  the  hysterical  nature  of  her  temperament, 
or  in  the  course  of  some  more  serious  malady.  The 
next  episode  in  this  strange,  uneventful  history  is  the 
appearance  of  lovers,  attracted  by  the  beauty  and 
isolation  of  the  fair  Desdemona.y  One  of  these,  ani- 
mated by  violent  passions,  but  base  designs,  she 
shunned,  repelled  with  dignity  and  firmness,  but  re- 
quired the  assistance  of  the  manager,  and  an  appeal 
to  his  father,  before  she  temporarily  escaped  from  his 
persecutions.  Before  these  were  renewed  a  genuine 
and  honourable  protector  had  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  injured  lady,  and  having  thoroughly  chastised  her 
ravisher,  emancipated  her  from  further  annoyance. 
This  chivalrous  youth  had  himself  become  enamoured 
of  the  grace  and  talents  of  Coralie  Walton  while  a 
constant  frequenter  of  the  theatre,  and  so  sincere  and 
pure  was  the  affection  thus  inspired  that,  in  order  to 
accomplish  the  object  of  his  wishes,  and  to  come  into 
nearer  and  uninterrupted  association  with  the  actress, 
he  determined  to  adopt  the  stage  as  his  profession ; 
he  became  a  pupil  of  the  manager,  and  after  prolonged 
study  and  tuition  in  this  school,  he  was  incorporated 
with  the  company.  This  handsome  and  accomplished 
suitor  succeeded  in  captivating  at  once  the  admiration 
and  applause  of  the  public,  and  the  kindly  feelings  of 
the  person  whose  attractions  had  tempted  him  to  take 
so  important  a  step.  "  The  course  of  true  love  never 
does  run  smooth " ;  and  although  the  result  of  these 
romantic  arrangements  had  been  what  was  aimed  at 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  401 

and  was  desired,  and  a  deep  and  exalted  affection  had 
arisen  between  the  parties  interested,  the  lover,  ap- 
parently either  rejected  or  estranged  by  certain  obscure 
conduct  or  revelations  on  the  part  of  Coralie  Walton, 
suddenly  announced  his  change  of  profession,  his  de- 
parture for  America,  declining  all  remuneration  for  his 
really  valuable  services,  and  avoiding  all  explanation 
of  his  present  conduct  or  his  future  plans  and  projects. 
She  who  was,  in  some  inexplicable  manner,  the  cause 
of  this  catastrophe,  was  seized  with  brain  fever,  which 
proved  to  be  protracted,  calling  for  all  care  and  kind- 
ness from  those  around.  Shortly  after  her  recovery 
from  this  formidable  attack,  she  was  called  upon  to  act 
the  part  of  Ophelia,  and  is  described  by  the  Hamlet  of 
the  evening  as  agitated  by  tremulous  and  spasmodic 
twitching  of  the  face  when  he  took  her  hand,  and 
pronounced  the  words,  "  I  did  love  you  once " ;  the 
contractions  and  agitations  being  intensified  when  she 
replied,  "  Indeed,  my  lord,  you  made  me  believe  so." 
On  the  occurrence  of  the  passage,  "You  should  not 
have  believed  me ;  for  virtue  cannot  so  inoculate  our 
old  stock  but  we  shall  relish  of  it :  I  loved  you  not," 
the  poor,  trembling,  agitated  girl  became  more  and 
more  the  image  of  distress  and  despair,  evidently 
recalling  and  reanimating  some  faded  but  unforgotten 
scene  of  pain  and  separation,  representing  less  Ophelia 
than  herself,  and  paralysed  rather  by  real  sentiments 
and  sorrows  than  by  their  imitation.  A  wild  wander- 
ing of  the  eye,  and  hysterical  catch  in  the  speech 
were  observed,  and  were  speedily  followed  by  wild, 
uncontrollable  shrieking,  uttered  as  she  rushed  from 
the  stage,  and  passing  at  once  into  hysterical  and 
ultimately  acute  and  fatal  mania.     In  the  course  of  a 

2  D 


402  MAD  HUMANITY 

few  days  this  unfortunate  victim  of  impersonation 
died,  whilst  still  a  lunatic,  and  in  her  incoherence 
muttering  confused  sounds,  in  which  might  be  dis- 
tinouished — "  0  mother  !  mother  !  "  and  "  Tell  Hamlet 
not  to  forget."  Contemporaneously  with  her  sudden 
loss  of  reason  there  was  given  to  a  friend  a  packet, 
with  the  urgent  request  that  he  should  deliver  it  to 
the  person  whose  name  it  bore,  should  he  encounter 
him  in  his  travels  through  America,  where  he  was 
about  to  go.  Upon  the  contents  of  this  missive  hung 
the  solution  of  the  melancholy  tragedy  recorded.  The 
transatlantic  journey  was  undertaken,  and  accidentally 
the  owner  of  the  packet  was  discovered  in  the  person 
of  an  officer  of  the  United  States  army,  wdio,  after 
displaying  much  natural  emotion,  revealed  all  that 
was  previously  inexplicable  in  the  conduct  of  Coralie 
Walton. 
I-  It  disclosed  what  was  throughout  anticipated,  that 
the  attachment  which  seduced  him  from  more  grave 
occupations  to  the  stage  was  returned  by  the  object  of 
his  idolatry ;  who,  however,  while  confessing  perfect 
reciprocity,  and  although  there  were  no  obstacles  to 
immediate  marriage,  gently,  but  firmly,  it  was  con- 
ceived by  her  admirer,  obstinately  refused  her  consent 
to  an  immediate  union.  This  event,  ardently  desired 
by  both  parties,  was  made  to  depend  upon  a  proposed 
visit  to  the  mother  of  the  actress.  This  step  was  at 
once  taken,  when  the  betrothed  youth  finds  himself,  to 
his  horror,  in  the  presence  of  a  rouged,  bedizened,  utterly 
profligate,  and  degraded  parent  of  his  cherished  com- 
panion. A  hurried  announcement  of  his  emigration 
completes  the  tale,  except  that  the  deserted  Coralie 
Walton,   roused    to   an    exciting    recollection    of    her 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  403 

receut  misfortune  and  misery  by  the  situation  and 
character  in  the  drama,  probably  by  some  similarity 
in  the  person  and  bearing  of  Hamlet  to  her  lover,  and 
by  the  tenderness  and  tone  in  which  she  was  addressed, 
was  precipitated  from  fictitious  into  real  alienation. 

We  are  entitled  to  conclude,  although  all  certain 
information  on  the  subject  is  wanting,  that  while  the 
profession  and  position  of  her  mother,  the  estrange- 
ment of  her  intended  husband,  the  false  position  which 
she  held,  with  feelings  of  shame,  degradation,  and  other 
moral  factors,  may  have  contributed  to  the  catastrophe, 
physical  changes  had  taken  place  in  the  brain  and 
lungs,  of  which  evidence  is  afforded  in  the  attack  of 
cerebral  fever  and  haemoptysis,  which  were  fully  ade- 
quate to  produce  abrupt  and  fatal  derangement.  Yet 
many  illustrations  are  accessible,  in  which  feigned 
pride,  wrath,  and  indignation  have  rapidly  merged  into 
forms  of  madness,  marked  by  precisely  similar  mani- 
festations ;  where  the  emotions  have  been  cherished, 
encouraged — in  other  words,  cultivated  and  inflamed — 
have  usurped  and  dethroned  the  supremacy  of  judg- 
ment, have  exercised  the  province  and  power  of  will, 
and  ultimately  placed  the  system  under  the  dominion 
of  some  form  of  monomania.  It  is  quite  true  that  in 
the  majority  of  such  cases  there  is  present  bodily 
disease,  which  may  be  unconnected  with  the  disturb- 
ance in  the  nervous  functions,  but  which  is  often 
palpably  the  outcome  or  direct  consequence  of  this 
disturbance ;  and  where  the  election  of  the  precise 
relation  in  which  these  organic  lesions  stand,  the 
moral  phenomena  depends  more  upon  the  opinions  of 
the  individual  than  upon  any  demonstrative  proof 
afforded  by  the  alterations  themselves. 


404  MAD  HUMANITY 

111  concluding  this  subject,  it  is  incumbent  upon 
me  to  record,  not  merely  that  individuals  engaged 
iji  _  ministering  to  _the_gratification  and  instruction 
of  the  public  in  our  theatres  have  occasionally 
yielded  to  the  influences  of  constitutional  causes, 
or  surrounding  circumstances,  and  been  doomed 
to  mental  infirmity,  as  have  the  performers  on 
the  wider  and  grander  stage  of  life,  but  that,  by  a 
kind  of  inversion  of  this  Nemesis,  the  insane  have, 
either  individually  or  in  groups,  assumed  the  role  and 
functions  of  professional  actors,  and  have  appealed 
successfully  to  the  suffrages  of  members  of  their  own 
class,  or  to  the  less  indulgent  critics  from  general 
society.  This  course  has  been  adopted,  I  believe,  in 
all  cases,  in  consonance  with  the  inclination  and  earnest 
desire  of  the  individuals,  although  suggested,  in  all 
probability,  by  medical  guides  or  other  guardians  as  a 
remedy,  as  a  means  of  distraction  from  painful  and 
unhealthy  thoughts  and  feelings,  and  as  an  inexhaustible 
source  of  enjoyment.  The  great  success  which  it  is 
believed  attended  the  effort  to  produce  plays  in  our 
asylums,  enacted  by  patients,  has  fully  justified  the 
safety  and  expediency  of  such  an  experiment ;  while 
the  benefits  which  have  accrued  to  those  personally 
engaged  in  histrionic  representation  has  conferred  upon 
this  amusement  a  dignified  rank  in  the  scale  of  moral 
hygiene.  It  may  be  well  conceived  that  the  prepara- 
tion and  actual  production  of  a  vaudeville,  farce,  or 
comedy  in  an  hospital  for  diseases  of  the  mind,  where, 
although  the  accommodation,  furniture,  and  comforts 
assimilate  the  place  to  a  home  or  a  hotel,  but  where, 
nevertheless,  rigid  discipline,  and,  at  the  best,  pensive- 
ness,  depression,  or  melancholy  must  generally  prevail. 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  405 

could  not  fail  to  effect  a  decided  and  pleasurable 
revolution  in  the  hearts  and  hopes  of  all  concerned, 
from  the  prompter  and  tirewoman  to  the  principal 
character  and  hero  of  the  piece.  This  experience  has 
convinced  a  large  proportion  of  those  engaged  in  the 
treatment  of  insanity  that  this  powerful  and  popular 
element  in  the  excitement,  perhaps  in  the  regulation,  of 
the  emotions  and  sentiments,  should  not  be  neglected, 
although  its  employment  must  be  limited  alike  by  the 
instruments  at  their  disposal,  the  nature  of  the  cases 
and  of  the  cure  to  which  it  is  addressed,  and  by  the 
operation  of  the  higher  agents  resorted  to. 

An  attempt  w^as  made  many  years  ago  by  M. 
Esquirol  to  introduce  theatrical  representations  into 
the  asylum  at  Charenton  as  a  means  of  amusement,  if 
not  of  cure,  in  the  treatment  of  the  insane.  The 
French  have  a  passion  for  the  drama,  and  a  vast 
number  of  the  educated  classes  in  that  country  have 
been  amateur  performers,  and  so  the  experiment  might 
have  been  expected  to  succeed.  But  it  failed  from  a 
somewhat  singular  circumstance.  It  should  be  noted 
that  this  development  was  essayed  at  no  great  distance 
of  time  subsequent  to  the  French  Eevolution.  I  have 
forgotten  what  the  piece  selected  was,  but  it  is  interest- 
ing, both  chronologically  and  philosophically,  to  under- 
stand that  the  plot  contained,  amidst  other  features, 
the  deposition  of  a  king  by  his  subjects.  The  audience, 
chiefly  composed  of  patients,  regarding  this  rebellious 
act  as  real  and  unjustifiable,  rushed  on  the  stage  with 
the  utmost  tumultuous  indignation,  and  restored  the 
ill-treated  monarch. 

Some  years  after  this  amusing  failure  Moliere's 
Tartuffe  was  successfully  placed  before  the  inmates  of 


406  ilAD  HUMANITY 

Salpetriere.  Plays  have  been,  it  is  reported,  enacted 
in  asylums  in  Copenhagen.  It  is  concluded  that  in  all 
these  instances  the  dramatic  company,  as  well  as  the 
auditors,  were,  to  some  extent,  of  unsound  mind. 

Dramatic  performances  are  now  part  of  the  weekly 
routine  of  most  large  institutions  for  the  insane.  I 
recollect,  some  years  ago,  organising,  and  personally 
taking  part  in,  such  a  performance,  where  several  of 
the  inmates  of  the  asylum  had  shown  much  interest  in 
the  proceedings,  and  were  included  in  the  caste,  whilst 
two  of  them  had  painted  the  entire  scenery  and  pro- 
scenium, and  constructed  the  stage,  which  would  have 
done  credit  to  any  made  by  professional  persons.  The 
custom  of  inducing  patients  to  take  part  in  the  per- 
formance of  plays  originated  in  Scotland  some  years 
ago.  It  was  found  that  there  w^ere  invariably  four 
or  five  insane  patients  w^ho  could  be  so  employed. 
The  principle  here  laid  down  was  that  no  play  should 
be  accepted  or  placed  before  even  insane  spectators, 
unless  some  of  the  parts  were  undertaken  by  patients. 
One  of  the  persons  thus  participating  had  been  labour- 
ing under  acute  mania,  with  convulsions ;  another 
had  recovered  from  an  attack  of  epilepsy,  but  suffered 
from  delusions  and  intellectual  feebleness ;  a  third 
was  suicidal  and  dejected ;  a  fourth  was  actuated  by 
delusions  ;  while  a  fifth  presented  symptoms  of  fatuity, 
with  the  hallucination  that  she  saw  the  head  and 
limbs  of  her  best  friends  continually  dropping  from 
the  sky.  In  many  cases  the  patients  were  in  a  state 
of  convalescence,  but  in  all,  vestiges  of  their  original 
malady  could  be  traced.  The  step  now  mentioned 
was  not  merely  a  temporary  test  of  the  practicability 
of  reaching  the  mind  diseased,  but  was  persevered  in 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  407 

for .  thirty  or  forty  years,  with  hundreds  of  dramas, 
ranging  from  mere  vehicles  of  fun  and  merriment  up 
to  Red  Gauntlet  and  Tlie  Lady  of  Lyons.  This  mode 
of  treatment  or  amusement  has  proved  curative  or 
calmative  in  a  large  number  of  similar  establishments, 
and  has,  it  is  affirmed,  penetrated  even  into  the  region 
of  the  Pilsjrim  Fathers.  It  would  be  invidious,  and 
might  prove  cruel,  to  estimate  critically  either  the 
pretensions  of  these  actors  or  the  approximation 
effected  to  a  well-constituted  and  suitably  decorated 
theatre,  in  the  apartments  and  make -shifts  where 
their  capacities  were  displayed ;  but  it  is  worthy  of 
grave  consideration  that  during  these  impersonations 
there  was  neither  disturbance  nor  interruption  from 
the  pit  or  galleries,  nor  failures  of  memory  or  absurdi- 
ties or  incongruities  or  the  manifestation  of  delusions 
on  the  part  of  the  performers.  And  an  accomplished 
literary  friend,  who  witnessed  these  performances, 
stated  that  "  everything  was,  in  fact,  conducted  as  in 
a  long-established  theatre  by  a  well-disciplined  corps 
of  actors,  and  it  was  altogether  a  hearty  and  kindly 
representation."  While  these  exhibitions  were  gener- 
ally hailed  as  marvellous  manifestations,  it  must  be 
confessed  that  admiration  and  approval  were  not 
unanimous.  To  those  who  were  unable  to  conceive 
the  influence  of  reading,  music,  or  any  external 
pleasurable  and  exalting  sensations  in  restoring  or 
reconstructing  or  rehabilitating  the  wrecked  and 
ruined  intellect  or  imagination,  the  power  of  the 
histrionic  art  was  regarded  as  vain  and  visionary ;  to 
those  who  cherished  conscientious  religious  scruples 
or  objections  to  all  entertainments  of  this  class,  such 
experiments   were   unacceptable    and    worthy  of  con- 


408  MAD  HUMANITY 

deinnation.  But  it  may  be  well  to  place  in  antagonism 
to  such  views  the  remarks  of  Martin  Luther,  the  great 
founder  and  champion  of  the  Eeformation,  made  at  a 
time  when  that  great  social  convulsion  was  at  an 
intense  heat,  and  when  the  tendency  of  all  those 
affected  by  its  throes  receded  to  as  great  a  distance 
from  what  had  been  sanctioned  or  tolerated  by  the 
Church  of  Eome  as  possible  :  "  The  acting  of  comedies 
ought  not  to  be  debarred  for  the  sake  of  the  boys  in 
school — first,  that  they  exercise  them  in  the  Latin 
tongue ;  second,  in  comedies  such  persons  are  artifi- 
cially feigned  and  presented,  whereby  people  are 
instructed  and  admonished  every  way  concerning 
their  ofi&ces  and  vocations,  likewise  what  belongeth  to 
a  master  or  a  servant,  a  young  fellow  that  becometh 
him,  and  that  he  ought  to  do.  Yea,  therein  are 
demonstrated  all  dignities,  degrees,  offices,  and  duties ; 
how  every  one  ought  to  carry  himself  in  outward  con- 
versation, as  in  a  looking-glass.  Moreover,  therein 
are  also  shown  and  described  the  crafty  exploits  and 
deceits  of  evil  ones.  In  like  manner  what  the  office 
of  parents  and  young  striplings  is ;  how  they  ought 
to  bring  up  and  train  their  children  and  young  people 
to  the  state  of  matrimony,  when  time  and  opportunity 
serveth.  How  children  ought  to  be  obedient  to  their 
parents,  and  how  they  ought  to  proceed  in  wooing. 
And,  indeed,  Christians  ought  not  altogether  to  fly 
and  abstain  from  comedies,  because  now  and  then 
gross  tricks  and  dallying  passages  are  acted  therein ; 
for  then  it  will  follow  that  by  reason  thereof  we 
should  also  abstain  from  reading  in  the  Bible." 

I  conclude  by  quoting  a  more  modern  critic.     He 
says :  "  In   ancient   times   the  dramatic  art  has  been 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS 


409 


honoured  by  being  made  subservient  by  religion  and 
morality,  and  in  the  most  enlightened  country  of 
antiquity,  in  Greece,  the  theatre  was  supported  by  the 
State.  The  dramatic  nature  of  the  dialogues  of  Plato 
has  always  been  justly  celebrated,  and  from  this  we 
may  conceive  the  great  charm  of  dramatic  poetry. 
Action  is  the  true  enjoyment  of  life,  nay,  life  itself. 
The  great  bulk  of  mankind  are  either,  from  their 
situation,  or  their  incapacity  for  uncommon  efforts, 
confined  within  a  narrow  circle  of  operations.  Of  all 
the  amusements,  therefore,  the  theatre  is  the  most 
profitable,  for  there  we  see  important  actions  when 
we  cannot  act  importantly  ourselves.  It  affords  us  a 
renovated  picture  of  life,  a  compendium  of  whatever 
is  animated  and  interesting  in  human  existence.  The 
susceptible  youth  opens  his  heart  to  every  elevated 
feeling  ;  the  philosopher  finds  a  subject  for  the  deepest 
reflections  on  the  nature  and  constitution  of  man." 

•*  The  chief  mental  disease  from  which  actors  suffer, 
who  have  come  under  my  observation,  is  melancholia. 
One  of  the  principal  causes  for  that  condition  is  over- 
work  and  disappointment,  in  some  instances,  acting 
on  a  predisposed  miiul.  Many  a  gifted  young  actor, 
with  great  promise,  is  ruined  from  the  too  free  indul- 
gence in  alcohol. 

There  are  certain  well-known  restaurants  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Strand,  which  are  the  head- 
quarters of  many  an  old  ne'er-do-weel  actor,  so  to 
speak,  of  the  "  old  school,"  who  is  found  there  day 
after  day ;  and,  though  he  himself  has  been  ruined  by 
drink,  he  will  do  his  best  to  entice  the  young  aspirant 
to  histrionic  fame  to  indulge,  and  go  likewise  to  his 
ruin.      He  will  graphically  describe  some  of  his  past 


410  MAD  HUMANITY 

dramatic  experiences,  which  are  mostly  imaginative, 
so  as  to  engage  the  attention  and  obtain  the  con- 
fidence of  the  poor  conceited  youth.  What  I  am  saying 
is  perfectly  true  in  every  respect,  and  I  am  glad  of  an 
opportunity  of  giving  publicity  to  it.  In  making 
this  statement  I  trust  I  shall  be  the  means  of  turn- 
ing some  such  individual  from  the  error  of  his  ways. 
What  I  say  on  this  subject  is  well  known  to  most  of 
our  leading  managers,  who  would  support  my  views. 
j*Sir  Henry  Irving,  the  most  distinguished  actor  of 
the  day,  and  the  kindest  and  most  sympathetic  of 
managers,  would  as  soon  allow  a  lunatic  to  belong  to 
his  company  as  a  drunkard,  one  being  quite  as 
dependable  and  reliable  as  the  other,  and  of  the  two 
I  think  the  former  the  more  preferable. 

Children  of  geniuses  are  very  often  eccentric  and 
strange,  and,  so  far  as  my  experience  is  concerned, 
I  have  come  across  many  epileptics  whose  fathers 
have  been  geniuses.  Professor  Lombroso  informed 
me  that  he  had  also  observed  the  same,  and  I  think 
our  opinion  is  not  far  wrong.  The  epilepsy  here 
is  generally  of  a  maniacal  type. 
V  To  indulge  to  excess  in  phantasy"  is  very  dangerous. 

I  To   the  real  world  the  visionary  is  an  alien,  to  his 
adopted  country  a  denizen ;  he  is  an  outlaw   to  the 
I  beings  around  him,  and  in  the  end  the  brain  becomes 

!  a   chaos  and  a  wreck.      A  ^enius   in   art   made   the 
g 

I  following  statement :  "  When  a  sitter  came  I  looked 

I  at  him  attentively  for  half  an  hour,  sketching  from 

*  time  to  time  on  the  canvas.      I  wanted  no  more.      I 

I  put  away  my  canvas  and  took  another  sitter.      When 

I  I  wished  to  resume  my  first  portrait,  I  took  the  canvas, 

I  and  set  it  in  the  chair,  where   I  saw  him  as  distinctly 


Epileptic  Mania. 


MADNESS  OF  GENIUS  411 

as  if  he  had  been  before  me  in  his  own  proper  person. 
I  looked  from  time  to  time  at  the  imaginary  figure, 
then  worked  with  my  pencil ;  when  I  looked  at  the 
chair  I  saw  the  man.  Gradually  I  began  to  lose  the 
distinction  between  the  imaginary  figure  and  the  real 
person,  and  sometimes  disputed  with  sitters  that  they 
had  been  with  me  the  day  before.  At  last  I  was  sure 
of  it ;  and  then — all  was  confusion.  I  recollect  nothing 
more.  K I  lost  my  senses,  and  was  thirty  years  in  an 
asylum." 

It  is  not  the  geniuses  of  poetry,  art,  science,  and 
literature  who  alone  fall  the  victims  to  mental  disorder. 
Those  minds  which  are_  continually^  ^Hsi^:©^'^^  ^^L  ill^ 
collisions  and  jealousies  of  the  political  arena  are  often 
found  to  fail  in  the  struggle.  Pitt,  Fox,  and  Canning 
died  in  the  meridian  of  their  fame,  their  lives  curtailed 
by  the  continued  strain  of  overwhelming  mental  con- 
ditions. . 

Lord  Randolph  Churchill  is  the  latest  example  of^ 
a  genius  cut  short  in  his  prime,  of  whom  great  things 
were  expected,  and  whose  career  I  closely  watched  with 
a  curious  psychological  interest,  his  condition  being 
perfectly  apparent  to  me  for  some  time  previous  to 
his  death.  This  is  a  typical  illustration  of  the 
decadence  of  a  master  mind  prostrated  by  disease, 
which  had  its  origin  in  abnormal  and  undue  political 
excitement. 

If  we  glance  at  the  comparative  statistics  of 
mortality  in  genius,  we  are  enabled  to  form  some  idea 
of  the  final  effect  of  different  studies  and  pursuits. 
r>/^]Srearly  all  imaginative  writers  are  of  an  irritable 
nature.  ?<  Many  hard  brain -workers  continue  their 
labours  long  after  they  have  received  a  warning,  as 


412  MAD  HUMANITY 

indicated  by  acute  headaches;  but,  notwithstanding 
that  caution  sent  us,  we  persevere  with  our  mental 
labour,  heedless  of  what  must  be  the  inevitable  result. 
y.  •  I  have  had  under  my  personal  observation  a  well- 
known  London  comedian,  who,  on  his  own  admission, 
felt  inclined  to  cut  his  throat  while  waiting  in  the 
wings,  but  whose  entrance  on  the  stage  was  greeted 
with  roars  of  laughter. 

<  Musicians,  though  men  of  marked  genius,  are  often 
eccentric ;  their  records  do  not  give  many  instances  of 
mental  derangement. 

When  the  history  of  the  present  century  is  written, 
there  will  be  found  to  have  existed  many  geniuses 
who,  though  having  commenced  with  brilliant  careers, 
were  driven,  by  mental  disorder,  to  commit  some 
excess  which  will  have  handed  their  memory  down 
to  posterity,  not  only  as  the  brilliant  geniuses  they 
were,  but  also  as  examples  of  mental  decadence 
which,  though  dormant  in  them  for  some  time, 
ultimately  culminated  in  a  positive  outburst  of  in- 
sanity.^ The  insanity  of  genius  is  one  of  the  many 
awful  proofs  of  immortality  —  that  the  unfettered 
spirit  that  moved  the  lips  and  pen  to  speak  and 
write  the  syllables  which  still  delight  mankind  is 
unchanged,  unchangeable ;  but  the  phenomena  which 
our  senses  perceive,  both  of  intellect  and  madness, 
are  the  results  of  health  or  disease  in  that  structure, 
by  its  emancipation  from  which  the  intellectual,  yet 
tainted  mind,  becomes  the  pure  immortal  soul. 


CHAPTEE    XIII 

MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  EACE 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  there  is  a  gradual  and 
progressive  degeneration  going  on  in  the  human 
race. 

Man  is  not  the  product  of  accident ;  nor  yet 
the  last  manifestation  of  imaginary  transformations. 
Created  to  attain  the  end  appointed  by  infinite 
wisdom,  he  cannot  do  so,  unless  the  conditions  which 
insure  the  permanency  and  progress  of  the  race  be 
more  powerful  than  those  which  tend  to  destroy 
and  deteriorate  it.  There  is  no  doubt  that  there 
are  elements  of  deterioration  and  disintegration  which 
work  upon  humanity. 

I  will  consider  the  chief  causes  for  this  de- 
generation : — 

1.  Degeneration  caused  by  poisonous  agents. 

2.  That  due  to  hereditary  inlluence. 

3.  Other  causes  of  degeneration. 

With  reference  to  the  first,  by  poisonous  agents,  I 
will  only  consider  alcohol,  opium,  and  tobacco. 

At  the  present  day,  when  an  indulgence  in  alcoholic 
poison  is  exerting  its  sad  but  dreadful  effects  on 
humanity,  when  our  lunacy  statistics   show  that  the 


414  MAD  HUMANITY 

increase  of  insanity  is  really  due  to  an  increase 
in  this  vice,  it  behoves  one  to  consider  briefly 
the  question.  The  recent  publication  of  the  Asylum 
Committee's  Annual  Eeport  shows  an  actual  increase 
in  lunacy,  in  the  asylums  governed  over  and  con- 
trolled by  the  County  Council,  of  700  as  compared 
with  last  year.  In  one  large  asylum,  the  medical 
superintendent  states  that,  out  of  958  inmates 
received,  217  of  these  admissions  were  due  to 
"  intemperance  in  drink."  Quite  one-fourth  of  the 
insanity,  then,  is  attributed  to  a  vice  w-hich  is,  so  to 
speak,  self-inflicted.  These  statistics  also  well  com- 
pare with  those  issued  by  the  Lunacy  Commissioners, 
and  on  taking  an  average  for  the  last  five  years,  drink, 
as  a  cause,  averages  20*9  per  cent  of  the  admissions. 
When  we  take  into  consideration  that  there  is  no 
disease  whose  germs  are  handed  down  to  posterity  to 
a  greater  extent  than  this,  we  shudder  to  think  what 
the  condition  of  the  descendants  of  these  alcoholic 
degenerates  must  be.  It  is  a  law  of  vital  physiology 
that  as  "  like  begets  like  "  so  do  drunken  parents  often 
transfer  their  brutalising  habits  to  their  unhappy  off- 
spring, wdio,  if  they  do  not  actually  follow  in  the 
wake  of  their  parents,  exhibit  some  form  of  moral  and 
mental  obliquity,  or  a  nervous  disorder  clearly  trace- 
able to  a  deterioration  of  physical  structure  (in  all 
probability  seated  in  the  brain),  caused  by  a  long  and 
persistent  indulgence  in  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks. 
What  Burton  said  years  ago  remains  true  at  the 
present  day  that  "  If  a  drunken  man  gets  a  child,  it 
will  never  likely  have  a  good  brain."  One  of  the 
leading  physicians  in  America  showed  by  his  statistics 
that  out  of  300  idiots,  wdiose  history  could  be  traced. 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE     415 

145  were  the  children  of  druukeu  parents.  A  large 
percentage  of  crime  and  insanity  results  from  the  same 
cause,  and,  speaking  generally,  I  may  state  that  quite 
30  per  cent  of  lunacy  in  all  parts  of  the  universe 
originates  in  habits  of  intoxication.  This  state  of 
affairs  must  continue  until  some  stringent  legislation 
is  passed  to  recognise  such  as  a  mental  disorder, 
and  one  to  be  properly  and  legally  controlled  and 
treated. 

Alcohol  entering  the  system  in  excess  modifies 
fatally  the  constituent  elements  of  the  blood  and  acts 
as  a  poison.  It  may  be  stated  generally  that  the 
symptoms  of  alcoholic  poison  are  those  of  alternate 
excitement  and  depression. 

It  is  impossible  to  walk  in  the  streets  of  any  great 
city,  especially  London,  without  being  shocked  at  the 
terrible  degeneration  which  is  going  on  in  consequence 
of  the  prevailing  habit  of  over-indulgence  in  alcohol, 
and  this  applies  to  every  class  of  society. 

There  is  no  malady  in  w^iich  hereditary  influence  is 
so  marked  a  characteristic  as  this ;  if  insanity  and 
congenital  imbecility  are  the  extreme  terms  of  alcoholic 
degeneration,  many  intermediate  states  become  evident 
by  various  aberrations  of  intelligence  and  perversions 
of  the  moral  sentiments.  The  following  case  shows  the 
progressive  symptoms  of  alcoholic  poison  :  A  man,  after 
ten  or  twelve  years'  indulgence  in  drink,  had  repeated 
attacks  of  delirium  tremens,  then  habitually  trembling 
hands,  tongue,  and  limbs,  disordered  sensations,  such  as 
occasional  blindness,  troubled  sleep,  disgust  for  all  food  ; 
formication,  subsultus,  and  advancing  paralysis ;  then 
followed  partial  anaesthesia,  becoming  complete  in  the 
fiugers,    toes,    and    extremities ;    vertigo    and    serious 


416  MAD  HUMANITY 

hallucinations  then  developed.  At  this  period  of  the 
complaint  a  strenuous  effort  was  made  to  stop  the 
downward  course,  and  for  a  short  time  successfully. 
Again  the  evil  habits  were  resumed,  and  again  the  old 
train  of  symptoms  occurred,  with  emaciation,  and 
frightful  cramps  and  spasms.  Again  a  cessation  of 
drinking,  and  again  a  relapse.  The  final  condition  is 
thus  described : — 

"Arrived  at  this  sad  period,  there  was  no  longer 
hope  of  amendment.  Deprived  of  intelligence,  lost  to 
all  moral  sense,  his  strength  diminished  from  day  to 
day,  and  nothing  could  now  arrest  the  progressive 
and  fatal  march  of  the  symptoms.  The  skin  became 
like  parchment,  the  legs  were  oedematous,  and  the 
digestion  profoundly  troubled.  The  delirium,  though 
continuous,  had  now  no  violent  exacerbations.  He 
muttered  unintelligibly,  his  look  was  stupid  and 
haggard,  his  appearance  brutal ;  and  when  death  came 
to  terminate  this  sad  existence,  consciousness  had  long 
ceased.  The  paralysis  was  general,  and  this  deplor- 
able victim  of  alcoholism  had  fallen  into  the  most 
hideous  state  of  degradation." 

Alcohol,  we  see,  produces  a  malady  presenting  the 
symptoms  of  true  poisoning,  and  of  a  specific 
character.  The  only  disease  likely  to  be  confounded 
with  it  in  the  type  I  have  just  described  is  that 
known  as  "  General  Paralysis."  The  symptoms  are 
trembling  of  the  feet  and  hands,  diminution  of 
strength,  paralysis,  subsultus,  cramps,  and  spasms.  It 
is  only  in  an  after  stage  of  the  disease  that  convul- 
sions and  epilepsy  occur. 

In  the  nervous  system  we  notice  at  first  formica- 
tions, exaggeration  of  sensibility,  and  neuralgic  afifec- 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE     417 

tion  ;  later,  diminution  of  sensibility,  perversions  of  tlie 
senses,  and  difficulty  of  speaking. 

There  are  different  varieties  of  alcoholism  observed 
in  our  asylums,  according  as  to  whether  it  occurs  directly 
in  the  individual,  or  is  inherited  from  the  parents : 
in  the  latter  instance  the  wretched  victims  to  this 
congenital  disease  may  terminate  their  days  in  the 
last  convulsions  of  general  paralysis,  and  in  a  state  of 
the  most  profound  moral  and  physical  degradation. 
In  the  former  class,  removed  earlier  from  their  vices, 
they  will  pass  an  existence,  perhaps  a  little  more 
enviable,  but  of  w^hich  dementia,  stupor,  absence  of  all 
intellectual  vigour,  and  the  abolition  of  all  moral 
sentiments  form  the  most  prominent  characters.  This 
class  is  very  numerous  ;  they  have  no  special  delirium, 
they  live  a  sort  of  automatic  existence ;  their  only 
desire,  apparently,  being  to  escape  from  their  incarcera- 
tion and  thus  become  enabled  to  resume  their  vicious 
excesses.  General  paralysis  is  not  always  the 
termination  of  such  a  class  of  cases;  sometimes  the 
disease  is  arrested,  stopping  short  of  that  series  of 
progressive  lesions  which  terminate  in  general  paralysis. 
There  are  certain  varieties  observable  in  the  hereditary 
class,  the  children  may  simply  inherit  the  drunken 
tendencies  of  the  parent,  and  what  was  habit  in  the 
one  becomes  an  uncontrollable  instinct  in  the  other ; 
thus  a  parent  who  is  in  the  habit  of  becoming 
intoxicated,  the  offspring  adopts  the  habit  as  second 
nature,  being  born  and  bred  in  it.  But  the  descend- 
ants of  such  intemperate  degenerates  have  progressive 
forms ;  some  are  born  completely  mentally  degenerate, 
that  is,  imbecile  or  idiotic,  others  attain  a  certain  age, 
beyond  w^iich  they  stop,  and  collapse  into  a  condition 

2  E 


418  MAD  HUMANITY 

resembling  dementia,  whilst  there  are  others,  who, 
after  labouring  hard  and  attaining  certain  professional 
standing,  find  themselves  incapable  of  further  progress, 
and  begin  to  retrograde.  There  appears  an  impossibility 
to  escape  entirely  from  the  hereditary  nature  of  this 
complaint,  and  the  absurdness  and  uselessness  of 
placing  any  dependence  upon  the  oft-repeated  and 
reiterated  vows  of  amendment  of  those  who  have 
once  been  subjected  to  this  influence  is  well  known 
to  those  experienced  in  this  complaint.  Many  a 
determination,  many  a  vow,  and  many  a  profound 
sentiment  of  remorse  have  been  expressed  by  these 
individuals  in  their  promise  to  fulfil  their  future  vows  of 
temperance  and  amendment,  but  to  no  avail.  From  my 
experience,  which  is  very  considerable,  in  these  cases, 
I  regard  chronic  alcoholism  as  one  of  the  greatest  vices 
of  the  age,  and  one  which  has  much  to  do  with  the 
present  degeneration  of  the  human  race.  I  will  cite 
one  case,  showing  the  hereditary  nature  of  this 
vice. 

The  great-grandfather  of  a  young  man  indulged  in 
drink,  till  it  developed  into  actual  dipsomania.  He 
was  killed  in  a  public-house  quarrel.  His  son,  the 
grandfather,  followed  in  his  footsteps,  and  was  brought 
in  a  maniacal  condition  to  an  asylum,  and  died 
ultimately  of  general  paralysis.  His  son,  the  father, 
was  of  comparatively  sober  habits,  but  nevertheless 
the  hereditary  taint  showed  itself;  he  became  insane, 
and  suffered  from  the  delusion  of  persecutions.  His  son 
was  taken  to  the  asylum  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  whose 
attack  had  developed  eight  months  previously,  without 
ostensible  cause,  in  mania,  the  transition  passing  to 
complete  idiocy.     Thus  we  see  : — 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE     419 

"  In  the  first  generation  immorality,  depravity, 
alcoholic  excess,  brutish  disposition. 

"  In  the  second  hereditary  drunkenness,  maniacal 
accessions,  and  general  paralysis. 

"  In  the  third  sobriety,  hypochondriacal  and  lypo- 
maniacal  tendencies ;  systematic  ideas  of  persecutions, 
and  homicidal  impulses. 

"  In  the  fourth  weak  intelligence  originally, 
access  of  mania  ;  stupor ;  transition  to  idiocy  ;  finally, 
extinction  of  the  race." 

There  are  four  fatal  forms  of  alcoholism : — 

1.  Those  who  have  passed  through  every  form  of 
alcoholic  poisoning,  and  terminate  their  career  in 
general  paralysis  and  dementia. 

2.  Those  who,  at  an  earlier  period  of  their  vicious 
life,  have  been  secluded  in  an  asylum,  and  end  their 
days  there. 

3.  The  descendants  of  the  two  previous  classes, 
including  born  idiots  and  imbeciles,  and  those  who 
live  intellectually  for  a  few  years,  and  ultimately  fall 
into  dementia. 

4.  Those  who  are  led  into  alcoholic  excess  by 
previous  disease,  or  predisposition. 

Not  only  does  alcohol  by  its  effects  cause  degenera- 
tion in  our  own  race,  but  in  every  part  of  the  civilised 
world. 

I  will  now  describe  a  few  of  the  types  of  alcoholic 
degenerates  which  have  come  under  my  own  observa- 
tion, and  are  probably  well  known  to  most  intelligent 
observers. 

The  phases  of  the  malady  are  peculiar.  We  have 
the  ordinary  public -house  drunkard,  one  wlio  begins 
his  carol   in  early  morning ;  he  is  found  there  as  soon 


420  MAD  HUMANITY 

as  the  doors  are  opened.  His  loquacity,  as  the  day 
goes  on,  becomes  more  and  more  intense,  and  he 
evinces  a  certain  familiarity  to  every  one  he  meets. 
During  the  day  he  may  leave  the  vicinity  of  the  place, 
but  only  to  return  again.  His  frequent  glass  must 
eventually  leave  its  effect  on  his  constitution.  At  the 
close  of  the  day  he  may  or  may  not  be  quite  intoxicated  ; 
if  he  is  so,  it  is  generally  of  the  noisy  or  hilarious  type, 
and  probably  will  make  night  hideous  by  his  noises. 
If  not  quite  intoxicated  he  is  peevish  or  depressed,  the 
result  of  the  reaction  following  repeated  glasses.  As 
compared  with  this  man  would  be  the  ordinary  brandy, 
or  whisky  and  soda,  drinker,  an  habitue  of  every  West 
End  club.  In  all  probability  he  would  vie  with  the 
poor  man  in  the  number  of  "  drinks  "  taken  during  the 
day.V'  This  class  of  individual  is  very  cantankerous, 
irritable,  and  infirm  of  purpose.  He  will  remain  in 
the  smoking-room  all  day  imbibing  at  intervals,  he  is 
talkative  to  the  various  members,  and  liable  to  be 
quarrelsome  if  contradicted,  or  crossed  in  any  way. 
Many  of  such  cases  ultimately  suffer  from  loss  of 
power  in  their  limbs,  which  may  resemble  an  incipient 
attack  of  threatened  paralysis,  but  is  really  what  is 
known  as  "  alcoholic  paralysis,"  a  condition  often  seen 
in  the  habitual  club  drinker.  He  is  a  source  of 
uneasiness  to  many  of  his  friends,  and  his  judgment 
in  any  matter  requiring  tact  or  discretion  is  most 
deficient,  and  his  advice  when  given  would  probably 
do  much  more  harm  than  good  if  follow^ed  out,  as  his 
mind  is  fast  degenerating.  7C  In  my  opinion  it  is  tlie 
early  glass  of  beer  of  the  poor  man,  and  the  early  glass 
of  spirit  of  the  more  affluent,  that  sow  the  seeds  of  wliat 
ultimately  develops  into  a  frightful  and  incurable  vice. 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE    421 

There  is  another  degraded  type  of  alcoholic  de- 
generate, and  one  of  common  occurrence ;  I  allude  to 
the  seedy  genteel,  and,  so  to  speak,  highly  respectable 
individual,  with  long  frock  coat  and  tall  hat,  who 
generally  patronises  the  public -houses  beyond  his 
immediate  home,  into  wdiich  he  may  be  observed  to  be 
sneaking  at  various  odd  times  of  the  day,  but  previous 
to  entering  he  has  a  good  look  round  to  see  whether 
he  is  being  observed.  This  class  of  individual  is  gener- 
ally one  of  the  best  patrons  of  the  establishment,  and 
though  his  outward  appearance  is  one  of  respectability, 
the  spots  on  his  face  clearly  indicate  what  his  weak- 
ness is.  I  have  seen  such  persons  even  taking  children 
into  the  public-house  in  the  early  morning,  and  thus 
initiating  them  in  his  own  vice ;  such  a  contemptible 
wretch  deserves  the  life  of  degeneration  and  degrada- 
tion which  is  certainly  in  store  for  him. 

I  now  come  to  a  type  so  often  met  with,  that  of 
the  self-satisfied  Alcoholic.  He  is  not  completely 
under  its  influence,  and  is  able  to  control,  to  a  certain 
extent,  his  actions.  He  has  a  familiar  smile  on  his 
countenance,  and  is  anxious  to  tell  strangers  his  private 
affairs.  He  will  insist  upon  shaking  hands  repeatedly, 
and  though  his  conversation  is  variable,  his  mind  will 
revert  to  some  small  grievance  which  he  will  have 
exaggerated  into  one  of  gigantic  proportions,  and  to 
which  he  will  keep  alluding,  apparently  forgetting  that 
he  had  previously  done  so ;  a  partial  loss  of  memory 
is  here  characteristic.  The  peculiar  smile,  or  some- 
times grin,  usually  met  with  in  those  cases  is  a  dis- 
tinctive feature,  and  there  is  a  sort  of  mock  courtesy 
combined.  There  is  also  a  well-defined  form  of  this 
complaint  which  I  might  call  the  "  Depressed  Alcoholic." 


422  MAD  HUMANITY 

It  is  characterised  by  weeping  periodically,  for  no 
reason  whatever,  apart  from  the  condition  the  victim 
is  in.  Whilst  in  this  state  family  secrets  are  often 
divulged  to  strangers.  This  depression  may  last  for 
some  time,  and  is  generally  followed  and  relieved  by 
sleep.  AVhilst  in  this  depressed  state  there  are  not 
many  visible  signs  of  the  actual  condition,  apart  from 
the  crying  and  low  spirits,  and  the  peculiar  clipping 
of  the  words,  which  is  more  apparent  whilst  in  this 
state,  than  when  in  the  more  acute  one  of  intoxication, 
when  all  power  of  equilibrium  is  lost. 

I  now  come  to  the  typical  dipsomaniac,  who  is  not  sup- 
posed to  be  able  to  resist  temptation,  and  who  suffers 
from  actual  disease,  and  not  from  vice.  Alcoholic  crav- 
ing does  not  merely  extend  to  the  more  familiar  beverages, 
such  as  spirit,  beer,  or  wine,  but  to  every  conceivable 
description  of  intoxicating  drink,  y  At  the  present  day 
there  is  a  most  lamentable  increase  of  secret  drinking 
amongst  women  of  good  position.  They  drink  when 
alone,  whilst  at  their  dinner -table  they  only  take 
water,  deception  being  conspicuous  in  such  persons. 
Eau  de  Cologne,  and  especially  sulphuric  ether,  are 
imbibed  freely.  I  always  suspect  a  lady  who  leads  a 
hermit's  life,  and  for  no  appreciable  reason  prefers 
day  after  day  to  remain  indoors,  of  secret  drinking, 
and  I  do  not  think  I  am  far  wrong  in  my  estimation  ; 
there  are  many  of  such  to  be  found,  I  regret  to  say. 
The  ladies  will  give  every  possible  excuse,  wdien  found 
out,  for  this  habit ;  generally  on  each  occasion  some 
different  explanation  will  be  forthcoming,  none  of 
which,  however,  have  any  bearing  on  the  real  condi- 
tion, whilst  those  experienced  cannot  be  so  easily 
gulled.     A  woman  suffering  from  this  calamity  should 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE     423 

not  be  allowed  any  money  at  her  command,  though 
she  will  invent  the  most  cunning  devices  to  obtain  it. 
I  have  heard  of  a  lady  so  afflicted  who,  on  finding 
that  all  resources  were  closed  to  her  for  obtaining 
money,  managed  to  get  it  by  having  her  teeth  extracted 
and  selling  them  to  purchase  what  she  desired.  If  I 
am  consulted  with  reference  to  a  marriage  where 
drink  is  a  hereditary  failing,  I  at  once  advise  against 
such  an  alliance,  but  it  is  a  curious  thing  that,  like  a 
good  many  other  complaints,  it  often  skips  over  one 
generation.  I  regard  lunacy  to  be  far  less  likely  to 
be  handed  down  to  posterity  than  alcoholic  craving. 
Of  all  \ices  it  is  the  most  dreadful,  and  the  most 
hereditary,  whilst  the  situation  is  so  terrible,  when  we 
consider  that  the  majority  of  those  addicted  to  it,  in 
the  first  instance,  can  really  abstain  from  it  if  they 
choose.  The  drunkards,  however,  go  on  their  way 
rejoicing,  dragging  honoured  names  into  the  mire,  ruin- 
ing themselves  and  their  families,  and  bringing  into 
the  world  those  destined  to  follow  in  their  footsteps, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  we  have  no  legal  power  in 
England  to  check  them  in  their  mad  career,  and  in 
their  precipitous  descent  from  sanity  to  what  we  must 
recognise  in  many  instances  as  a  mental  irresponsibility, 
and  one  of  the  worst  and  most  intractable  forms  that 
we  have  to  deal  with  at  the  present  day. 

The  fatal  habit  of  intemperance  injures  the  nervous 
system  generally,  and  the  brain  in  particular. 

A  gentleman  of  great  talent  was  an  excessive 
brandy  drinker,  and  had  lost  all  moral  control  over 
himself.  During  one  of  his  attacks  of  delirium 
tremens,  he  fancied  that  a  large  black  raven  was 
pecking  at  his  right  shoulder.     This  produced  a  state 


424  MAD  HUMANITY 

of  maniacal  excitement,  and  made  him  swear  most 
frightfully.  He,  however,  recovered  from  the  attack, 
and  resumed  his  daily  potations ;  but  when  he  had 
imbibed  a  certain  dose,  the  old  black  raven  would 
again  annoy  him.  As  he  was  a  public  man,  he  was 
often  seen,  and  it  was  frequently  noticed  that  in  the 
midst  of  an  intellectual  discourse  he  would  turn  his 
head  abruptly  towards  the  right  shoulder,  and  say, 
in  a  half-  smothered  oath,  "  Be  still ;  be  quiet,  will 
you?" 

One  day  his  servant,  being  asked  why  he  did  so, 
replied,  "Why,  sir,  don't  you  know  that  he  still  thinks 
his  old  enemy,  the  black  raven,  is  pecking  at  his 
shoulder;  but  he  is  never  troubled  with  this  fancy 
until  he  is  nearly  drunk  ;  and,"  he  continued,  "  it  takes 
a  rare  quantity  of  brandy  before  he  is  so." 

He  died  in  the  prime  of  life,  suffering  in  the  most 
fearful  manner,  bodily  and  mentally. 

A  person  of  mild  and  gentlemanly  habits  when 
sober,  but  who  was  a  most  inveterate  drinker  from  his 
youth  up,  was  full  of  regret  at  the  badness  of  his  career, 
but  yet  he  continued  this  suicidal  habit.  About  a  year 
after  he  had  consulted  a  doctor,  he  complained  of  an 
absolute  loss  in  his  smell  and  taste,  and  he  was  strongly 
urged  to  abstain  from  all  intoxicating  beverages.  He 
made  a  powerful  effort  to  do  so,  and  partially  recovered 
his  lost  senses.  But  real  or  fancied  annoyances  caused 
a  relapse,  and  then  he  was  unable  to  distinguish  the 
most  fragrant  from  the  most  foetid  substances.  And 
yet,  so  enslaved  had  he  become  to  his  fatal  habit,  that 
he  continued  to  indulge  in  excess,  to  use  his  own 
apology,  "to  prevent  the  irritation  he  experienced,  by 
stupifying    his    tlioughts."      And   so   he   drank   until 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE    425 

active  disease  of  the  brain  developed,  and  after  repeated 
attacks  he  died  of  delirium  tremens. 

The  next  case  has  a  moral  in  it,  and  might  have 
terminated  in  a  similar  way,  if  the  inebriate  had  not 
been  cut  off  in  his  career,  rather  prematurely,  by  a 
most  unfortunate  accident.  He  had  been  a  retail 
druggist  of  respectability,  but  was  addicted  to  intem- 
perate habits  as  a  young  man,  but  for  some  years  after 
his  marriage  he  restrained  the  strong  propensity ;  yet 
from  some  circumstance,  unknown  to  me,  he  began 
his  old  course  again  and  soon  became  an  inveterate 
drunkard.  All  his  stock  and  furniture  were  disposed 
of  to  gratify  his  inordinate  craving,  and  his  wife  and 
children  were  reduced  to  poverty. 

The  ravages  he  committed  on  himself  were  written 
in  red  and  blue  blotches  on  his  face  and  nose,  but 
these  were  trifling  as  compared  with  the  absolute  loss 
of  both  smell  and  taste,  as  in  the  previous  case ;  still 
he  might  be  seen  reeling  about  the  streets  whenever 
he  could  procure  money  for  drink. 

When  most  degraded  in  mind  and  body  he  was 
urged,  in  a  moment  of  sobriety,  to  take  the  temperance 
pledge,  and  he  soon  recovered  his  more  natural  ex- 
pression, and  a  little  feeling  of  renewed  respectability 
returned,  but  he  was  still  deprived  of  smell  and  taste. 

A  situation  was  procured  for  him  in  the  house  of 
a  respectable  firm  of  wholesale  druggists,  in  the  dry 
goods  department.  Yet,  with  all  his  past  experience, 
there  still  lurked  a  craving  for  a  more  potent  stimulus 
than  coffee  or  tea,  and  so  he  was  easily  persuaded  to 
break  his  pledge. 

Every  kind  of  alcoholic  beverages  were  excluded 
by  the  firm  from  their  establishment.     Yet  this  salutary 


426  MAD  HUMANITY 

order  was  evaded,  and  spirits  or  porter  \Yere  procured 
in  medicine  bottles.  The  man  had  clubbed  for  some 
porter,  and  during  the  time  it  was  sent  for,  a  bottle  of 
laudanum  had  been  placed  on  his  counter,  to  be 
enclosed  in  a  parcel  he  had  to  pack.  This  bottle  he 
mistook  for  the  forbidden  porter,  and  took  a  hearty 
draught  of  it,  and  immediately  recognised  by  his 
sensations  the  fatal  mistake.  A  stomach-pump  was 
instantly  procured,  and  every  effort  which  science  or 
humanity  could  apply  to  save  him  was  tried,  but  all 
proved  useless,  and  he  died  within  half  an  hour  ! 

As  he  had  not  recovered  the  sense  of  taste  and 
smell,  and  had  recommenced  his  former  intemperance, 
there  is  but  little  doubt  but  that  he  would  have  ulti- 
mately been  carried  off  by  some  form  of  cerebral 
disease.  I  state  this,  for  in  all  cases  of  excessive 
indulgence  in  alcohol  that  I  have  seen,  in  which  the 
senses  of  taste  and  smell  are  deranged  either  in  a  small 
degree,  or  by  total  deprivation  of  the  same,  it  is  a 
clear  indication  that  the  brain  itself  is  affected. 

Another  cause  for  the  degeneration  of  the  human 
race  is  the  indulgence  in  opium,  or  the  drug  habit,  as 
it  is  popularly  called ;  this  is  very  much  on  the 
increase  in  England,  and  it  is  one  of  the  most  fatal 
and  degrading  habits  that  it  is  possible  to  conceive. 
In  China  upwards  of  3,000,000  Chinese  smoke  opium, 
and  there  has  been  a  gradual  increase,  I  might  say 
an  alarming  increase,  in  the  amount  of  opium  which 
has  been  introduced  into  this  country  of  late.  In  one 
year  this  was  valued  at  over  £400,000.  The  effect 
of  inhaling  or  smoking  it  may  be  thus  described. 

The  first  impression  is  a  feeling  of  content  and 
slight   excitement,   manifested    by   loquacity    and   in- 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE    427 

voluntary  laughter.  Sometimes  there  are  fits  of  anger. 
Soon  the  eyes  become  brilliant,  and  the  respiration 
and  circulation  are  quickened  and  excited.  At  this 
stage  of  the  nervous  exaltation  the  smoker  feels  a 
peculiar  comfort,  and  the  temperature  is  augmented. 
The  impressions  are  lively,  and  the  imagination  wanders 
into  strange  illusions.  Now  we  observe  a  phenomenon 
frequently  remarked  in  mental  alienation.  Facts  and 
ideas,  long  forgotten,  present  themselves  to  the  mind 
in  all  their  original  freshness.  The  future  appears  all 
bright,  and  every  happiness  ever  wished  for  appears 
realised  by  the  smoker.  If  he  continues  smoking, 
exaltation  gives  place  to  depression  and  utter  prostra- 
tion. The  action  of  the  senses  is  suspended.  He 
hears  nothing,  he  becomes  silent,  his  face  becomes 
pale,  his  tongue  hangs  out,  a  cold  sweat  inundates  the 
whole  body,  and  insensibility  supervenes,  often  lasting 
for  several  hours.  The  awakening  is  what  might  be 
expected  after  such  a  debauch. 

One  curious  thing  about  the  opium  habit  is  that, 
though  it  takes  hold  of  an  individual  so  entirely,  and 
degenerates  him,  and  makes  him  unfit  for  the  duties 
of  life,  it  is  very  rarely  a  cause,  loer  se,  for  the  depriva- 
tion of  reason ;  and  out  of  the  number  of  admissions 
into  asylums  during  last  year  there  was  not  one 
instance  in  which  the  assignable  cause  was  stated,  so 
far  as  I  can  trace,  to  be  this  habit.  The  victims  to  it 
became  allured  by  its  charms,  and  I  myself  have  seen, 
in  the  Chinese  quarter  of  New  York,  some  most 
beautiful  European  women,  who  were  unable  to  leave 
its  precincts,  being  infatuated  by  the  indulgence  in  it, 
hanging  out  of  the  various  Chinese  windows,  with 
lovely,  but  pale  countenances.     The  majority  of  opium 


428  MAD  HUMANITY 

smokers,  or  eaters,  except  those  gifted  with  an  excep- 
tional organisation,  are  unable  to  restrain  from  indulging 
within  the  bounds  of  moderation.  The  termination  is 
generally  fatal  and  rapid;  having  passed  in  quick 
succession  the  stages  of  idleness,  debauch,  misery, 
physical  ruin,  and  utter  deprivation  of  moral  and 
intellectual  faculties,  they  die  an  early  death.  Nothing 
can  cure  such  an  individual. 

It  is  a  well-admitted  fact  that  the  action  of  opium 
is  more  pernicious  than  that  of  alcohol.  "^^The  days  of 
an  opium  eater  are  numbered  from  the  time  of  the 
commencement  of  the  complaint.  No  smoker  of 
opium  attains  an  advanced  age,  and  their  offspring  are 
blanched,  miserable,  and  struck  with  premature  mental 
decay.  Though  it  is  impossible  to  speak  positively  as 
to  the  ultimate  degenerating  effect  of  this  habit  on  our 
race  as  I  have  stated  as  regards  alcohol,  nevertheless  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  the  same  law  will  apply. 

With  regard  to  the  part  which  tobacco  plays  in  the 
degeneration  of  the  human  race,  but  which  among  all 
nations  is  not  only  a  habit,  but  a  necessity,  I  have  no 
intention  of  discussing  at  length,  for  it  has  never  been 
proved  that  smoking  in  moderation  is  in  any  way 
injurious.  It  has  been  authoritatively  stated  that  a 
large  proportion  of  persons  will  either  smoke  tobacco 
or  opium,  and  of  the  two  evils  the  first  is  preferable. 
More  than  fifty  years  ago  one  of  the  leading  surgeons 
in  London  wrote  as  follows :  "  I  believe  that,  if  the 
habit  of  smoking  advances  in  England  as  it  has 
done  for  the  last  ten  years,  the  English  character  will 
lose  the  prompt  combination  of  energy  and  solidity 
that  has  hitherto  distinguished  it,  and  that  England 
will  sink  in  the  scale  of  nations," 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE    429 

HI  have  seen  many  cases  of  nervous  disorder  and 
mental  impairment  which  are  clearly  traceable  to  an 
excessive  and  immoderate  use  of  tobacco.  A  shattered 
nervous  system,  premature  loss  of  mental  vigour,  im- 
paired memory,  and  mental  alienation,  are  too  often 
the  well-defined  results  of  excessive  tobacco  smoking. 
In  alluding  to  this  subject  I  would  desire  to  be  em- 
phatic in  my  remarks  on  cigarette  smoking,  especially 
among  boys.  I  think  that  this  is  one  of  the  curses  of 
our  age,  and  is  responsible  for  the  mental  degeneration 
of  our  youths. 

-^  The  abuse  of  tobacco,  intoxicating  liquors,  and 
debauchery  is  a  prominent  cause  for  insanity  in  many 
a  young  person ;  and  if  it  is  not  directly  the  cause,  it 
will  lay  the  seeds  for  that  complaint  which  will  ulti- 
mately develop  in  one  whose  constitution  has  been 
thus  early  injured.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate  exactly 
what  the  part  played  in  the  degeneracy  of  the  human 
race  by  an  excessive  indulgence  in  tobacco  really  may 
be.  It  is  dangerous  ground  to  trespass  upon,  but  I 
emphatically  state,  from  my  experience,  that  its  frequent 
use  is  detrimental  in  more  respects  than  one,  though  I 
am  not  opposed  to  moderate  smoking  of  pipes  and 
cigars,  but  I  am  to  cigarette  smoking  in  its  entirety. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  nicotine  is  a  virulent 
poison,  and  it  cannot  be  introduced  into  the  system 
directly  or  indirectly  without  injurious  effects  being  so 
caused.  The  physiology  of  smoking  appears  to  be  as 
follows:  The  first  attempt  by  the  boy,  probably  at 
school,  is  followed  by  nausea,  and  often  by  actual 
sickness,  but  the  economy  soon  habituates  itself  to 
the  practice.  If  it  is  fatally  injurious  to  adults  who 
have    not    reached   their  development,  what   must   it 


430  MAD  HUMANITY 

therefore    be    to    children  ?      The    large     amount,    of 
^    saliva  secreted  interferes  seriously  with  the  functions. 
^Young    smokers   are  generally  pale  and  meagre,  and 
the  phenomena  of  nutrition  are  imperfect.      There  is 
alternate   excitement   and   depression   of  the  nervous 
system,  and  inflammation  of  the   throat  and  respira- 
tory passages  are  common,  and  when  we  add  to  this 
that  the  young  smoker  generally  drinks,  and  passes 
much  of  his  time  in  a  vitiated  atmosphere,  we  shall  not 
^      be  astonished  at  the  early  germs  of  some  complaint. 
^  ^     Experiments  were  made  some  time  ago,  and  it  was 
discovered  that  leeches  were  killed  instantly  by  the 
blood  of  smokers.     So  suddenly  did  this   take   place 
that  they  dropped  off  dead  when  first  applied. 

The  Lancet  once  expressed  its  views  on  smoking : 
"  If  the  evil  ended  with  the  individual  who,  by  the 
indulgence  of  the  pernicious  custom,  injures  his  own 
health,  impairs  his  faculties  of  mind  and  body,  he 
might  be  left  to  his  enjoyment — his  fool's  paradise — 
unmolested.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case. ){ In  no 
instance  is  the  sin  of  the  father  more  strikingly  visited 
upon  the  children  than  the  sin  of  tobacco  smoking.  The 
ennervation,  the  hypochrondriasis,  the  hysteria,  the  in- 
sanity, the  dwarfish  deformities,  the  consumption,  the 
suffering  lives  and  early  deaths  of  children  of  inveterate 
smokers  bear  ample  testimony  to  the  feebleness  and 
unsoundness  of  the  constitution  transmitted  by  this 
pernicious  habit." 

I  think  it  my  duty  to  thus  allude  to  the  effects  of 
immoderate  tobacco  smoking,  and  to  absolutely  con- 
demn cigarette  smoking,  as  being  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  nervous  debility,  consumption,  and  degenera- 
tion, but  at  the  same  time  to  state  that  the  use  of 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE    431 

tobacco,  in  moderation,  as  previously  mentioned  by  me, 
is  upheld  by  myself,  and  by  others  of  high  scientific 
attainments  and  sound  judgment,  as  being  not  injuri- 
ous, but  beneficial,  both  hygienically,  therapeutically, 
and  psychically.  n 

With  regard  to  the  degeneration  due  to  hereditary 
influence,  the  transmission  of  organic  disposition  has  to 
be  considered.  It  does  not  follow  that  because  one 
individual  has  a  certain  malady  that  another  person 
will  inherit  a  like  one.  A  simple  nervous  complaint 
existing  in  the  parents  may  become  developed  in  the 
children  into  mania  or  melancholia,  or  some  other 
nervous  disease.  It  has  been  observed  that  the 
children  of  insane  parents,  often  in  their  infancy  have 
certain  nervous  anomalies  which  were  sure  indications 
of  an  ultimate  degeneration,  unless  some  proper  steps 
were  taken  to  improve  that  condition.  Of  course,  in 
tlie  event  of  both  parents  being  so  afflicted,  the  risk 
becomes  a  grave  one,  and  the  inherited  curse  may  be  a 
certainty.  Our  asylums  are  full  of  such  descendants, 
and  heredity  is  considered  by  the  authorities  as  being 
one  of  the  primary  causes  of  mental  degeneration. 
Many  persons  commit  crime  whose  relations  are  either 
incarcerated  in  asylums,  or  are  regarded  as  irresponsible 
persons,  and  taken  care  of  privately.  I  have  known 
those  moving  in  the  very  highest  classes  of  society, 
who  have  been  condemned  to  the  life  of  a  criminal,  in 
whose  family  existed  the  terrible  germs  of  mental 
degeneration,  but  on  whose  behalf  these  facts  have  not 
been  elicited  at  the  trial  in  mitigation  of  punishment. 
Some  people  imagine  that  insanity  is  a  greater  disgrace 
than  crime,  and  therefore  would  shield  their  own 
family  from  an  admission  of  an  existence  of  lunacy. 


432  MAD  HUMANITY 

rather  than  allow  it  to  be  raised  at  the  issue,  and 
would  prefer  a  criminal  in  their  family  to  a  lunatic. 
This  is  monstrously  cruel  and  inhuman,  and  as  soon  as 
all  classes  of  society  recognise  that  insanity  is  a  disease 
and  not  a  crime,  the  better  and  more  humane  it  will 
be  for  the  world  in  general,  and  especially  for  the 
afflicted  relatives  who  have  to  suffer,  in  consequence  of 
the  false  pride  existing  in  their  families.  I  have 
known  several  instances  to  which  these  remarks  would 
apply. 

I  will  give  a  few  cases  which  show  the  part 
heredity  plays  in  their  development. 

A  man,  aged  twenty-six,  fell  on  his  head,  but  for 
some  time  he  felt  no  inconvenience  therefrom.  Four 
years  later  he  was  seized  with  melancholia,  which  was 
attributed  to  the  fall.  Investigation  elicited  the  fact 
that  there  were  three  insane  persons  in  his  family. 

A  lady,  aged  twenty,  made  an  unhappy  union,  and 
suffered  much  sorrow.  Symptoms  of  insanity  rapidly 
developed  and  increased.  This  was  attributed  by  her 
friends  and  her  medical  advisers  to  her  domestic 
troubles,  but  facts  proved  that  her  mother  was  insane, 
and  her  grandmother  also. 

A  young  English  girl,  living  in  Paris,  was  deserted 
by  a  young  man  who  had  promised  her  marriage ;  she 
became  insane ;  her  mind  became  unhinged,  and  she 
took  alcohol  in  excess.  This  tendency  was  the  result 
of  her  morbid  condition ;  she  died  consumptive,  and 
her  mother  had  died  insane. 

A  lady,  aged  forty,  had  gone  through  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  and  care ;  the  death  of  her  husband  caused 
great  sorrow  as  well  as  great  poverty.  Epilepsy  super- 
vened, followed  by  great  mental  derangement.       Her 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE    433 

sister  was  insane,  and,  besides,  many  others  of  her 
nearest  relatives  were  epileptic. 

It  is  in  the  individual,  and  not  in  the  misfortune 
itself  that  the  insanity  must  be  looked  for.  I  could 
mention  many  other  cases  proving  that  the  mental 
derangement  is  internal  and  personal,  and  not  adven- 
titious, as  an  exciting  cause  to  predisposition. 

The  following  case  is  a  good  illustration  of  pro- 
gressive ■  degeneration.  A  man  and  woman  had  a 
family  of  six  living  children,  born  during  the  space  of 
twelve  years,  during  which  time  the  gradual  degenera- 
tion was  conclusively  traced.  The  mother,  aged  fifty - 
four,  developed  a  goitre  when  thirty  years  of  age,  was 
emaciated  and  aged  from  privation  and  misery  ;  her 
intelligence  was  normal.  Her  husband  was  goitrous  from 
birth,  and  was  the  sole  survivor  of  his  father's  family. 
His  father  and  grandfather  were  semi-Cretins  ;  his  head 
was  flattened  posteriorly  and  very  wide  in  the  bilateral 
diameter;  his  intellect  was  feeble.  The  first  of  his 
six  living  children  was  a  girl  aged  twenty-six ;  she 
was  slow  in  locomotion  and  intellect,  and  slightly 
goitrous ;  the  second,  a  girl  aged  twenty-four,  had  an 
obtuse  intelligence,  but  ber  moral  sense  was  very 
defective  ;  the  third,  a  youth  aged  twenty-two,  presented 
a  still  further  advance  in  intellectual  and  physical 
decay ;  his  head  was  badly  formed,  his  figure  puffy, 
and  he  was  below  the  medium  stature.  The  Cretin 
temperament  was  conspicuous  in  him  without  the 
actual  form ;  he  was  deaf,  could  not  be  taught  to  read 
or  write  or  perform  any  useful  work;  the  next,  a  girl 
aged  seventeen,  was  born  deaf  and  dumb  and  was 
goitrous ;  her  actions  were  automatic  and  her  dis- 
position sad  and  irritable.     The  remaining  two,  girls 

2  F 


434  MAD  HUMANITY 

aged  sixteen  and  fifteen,  were  perfect  Cretins.  The 
arrest  of  their  development  was  irremediable ;  they 
could  not  speak,  and  scarcely  walk,  the  skin  was 
yellow  and  flesh  swollen ;  dentition  was  irregular,  and 
at  the  age  at  which  I  now  describe  them  their  first 
teeth  still  remained. 

There  were  five  children  born  after  this  period,  all 
of  which  happily  died. 

There  seems  every  reason  to  believe  that  in  some 
cases  of  depravity  and  crime  we  ought  to  take  into 
consideration  the  probable  existence  of  an  hereditary 
tendency,  especially  where  the  crime  seems  to  have 
been  merely  the  result  of  organic  disease.  Such  cases 
are,  indeed,  generally  regarded  as  manifestations  of 
mental  disease  where  they  are  characterised  by  favour- 
ing  conditions ;  whilst  under  other  circumstances  they 
fall  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  law.  We  may 
consider  insanity  as  hereditary,  where  the  parents, 
although  not  insane,  are  in  a  condition  commonly 
known  as  having  "  a  screw  loose,"  and  are  distinguished 
by  certain  eccentricities  of  character,  by  waywardness, 
and  by  an  inclination  to  certain  passions.  A  trades- 
man suffered  from  a  deficiency  in  the  power  of  will. 
His  father  attended  to  his  business  with  great  assiduity, 
but  he  had,  besides  other  peculiarities,  a  crotchet  of 
going  every  day,  at  the  same  hour,  to  a  certain  spot  in 
the  city,  where  he  turned  himself  round  several  times, 
going  there  with  such  punctuality  that  his  appearance 
could  be  determined  to  the  minute.  A  case  like  this 
may  certainly  be  regarded  as  one  of  partial  derange- 
ment. There  are  others,  again,  in  which,  under  uniform 
relations,  some  unusual  peculiarity  may  be  manifested, 
simply  as  such,  and  continue  for  years  and  years,  until» 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE    435 

becoming  suddenly  connected  with  a  number  of  other 
morbid  physical  conditions,  it  forms  a  groundwork  for 
insanity.  How  far  are  we  justified  in  regarding  as  a 
morbid  condition  of  the  nervous  system,  suicide,  crime, 
and  eccentricity  existing  in  the  parents,  as  a  ground 
for  the  insanity  in  their  children  ?  Statistical  reports 
can  only  furnish  broad  and  general  views  of  such 
relations,  for,  in  the  manner  in  which  they  are  drawn 
up,  they  do  not  profess  to  afford,  and,  indeed,  cannot 
give  any  account  of  particular  conditions;  but,  not- 
withstanding, they  serve  as  a  clue  for  the  solution  of 
the  more  important  practical  questions. 

The  insanity  of  the  children  is,  moreover,  not 
necessarily  hereditary  because  the  father  or  mother 
may  have  been  insane,  since  it  may  have  originated  as 
a  primary  condition  in  the  children.  In  order  to  prove 
with  certainty  the  hereditary  nature  of  the  disease,  we 
require  in  each  individual  case  an  especial  proof  that 
the  predisposition  of  the  child  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
parents — an  investigation  which  is  only  practicable  on 
taking  into  consideration  all  the  separate  circumstances 
that  may  have  exercised  a  special  influence  in  each 
individual  case.  Further,  in  order  to  be  able  to  assert 
that  insanity  is  hereditary,  we  ought,  at  least,  to  be 
able  to  show  that  it  has  originated  under  conditions 
identical  with,  or  analogous  to,  those  affecting  the 
parents  or  relatives.  To  effect  this,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  have  an  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  condition  of  the  forefathers  of  those  under 
consideration. 

Another  method  of  inquiry  seems  to  me  to  admit 
of  practical  application,  and  is  based  upon  an  attempt 
to  find,  in  the  form,  manner,  and  course  in  which  the 


436  MAD  HUMANITY 

hereditary  disease  has  manifested  itself,  some  con- 
necting links  to  guide  us  in  our  judgment.  If  strictly 
defined  rules  are  to  be  sought  for  in  what  I  simply 
venture  to  consider  as  indications,  we  might,  perhaps, 
discover  from  the  case  itself,  without  having  any  know- 
ledge of  its  anamnesis,  whether  or  not  it  could  be 
regarded  as  hereditary. 

Marriage. — As  the  question  of  marriage  plays  an 
important  part  with  reference  to  the  degeneration  of 
the  human  race,  I  will  briefly  give  my  views  with 
reference  to  this  matter. 

1.  I  am  of  opinion  that  if  one  of  the  contract- 
ing parties  has  been  of  unsound  mind  that  a  marriage 
should  be  prohibited,  except  under  most  exceptional 
circumstances  which  might  exist. 

2.  Dipsomaniacs,  neurotics,  consumptives,  and 
those  with  any  hereditary  disease  are  liable  to 
have  insane  children,  or  offspring  in  other  respects 
unhealthy. 

3.  If  there  is  hereditary  insanity,  consider 
whether  the  attack  came  on  previous  or  subsequent 
to  the  birth  of  the  person  under  consideration  whose 
marriage  is  in  contemplation.  Find  out  the  cause  for 
the  insanity.      This  is  most  imjyortant. 

4.  If  the  taint  of  insanity  is  but  slight  on  one 
side,  we  must  then  examine  into  this  so  far  as  the 
other  side  is  concerned.  If  we  find  on  the  other  side 
eccentricities,  neurotic  tendencies,  a  history  of  epilepsy 
or  paralysis,  a  highly  emotional  tendency,  or  any 
hereditary  disease  such  as  consumption  or  cancer, 
the  union  must  he  forlidden  without  the  slightest 
doubt. 

5.  Those    who    have    once    been    insane    should 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE     437 

not  be  allowed  to  marry.  This  especially  refers  to 
women  who,  having  had  one  attack,  might  keep 
exempt  from  a  second  attack,  had  they  not  married. 

6.  The  ordinary  rule  of  hereditary  transmis- 
sion is  from  the  parents  uninterruptedly  to  the 
children,  and  from  them  to  the  grand-children,  fre- 
quently with  an  interruption  from  the  grand-children's 
parents  to  the  grand-children. 

Sometimes  this  taint  is  communicated  through  the 
collateral  branches. 

As  to  constitutional  taint  existing,  the  following 
rules,  which  are  laid  down  by  Dr.  James  Michell  Winn, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  psychologists  of  the  old 
school,  are  those  in  universal  adoption  in  England, 
and  though  many  authorities  have  used  and  quoted 
his  views,  they  have  not  had  the  courtesy  to  acknow- 
ledge who  originated  them. 

1.  If  there  be  constitutional  taint  of  any  kind  in 
either  father  or  mother  on  both  sides  of  the  contractincj 
party,  the  risk  is  so  great  as  almost  to  amount  to  a 
certainty  that  their  offspring  would  inherit  some  form 
of  disease  of  a  chronic  nature. 

2.  If  the  constitutional  disease  is  only  on  one  side, 
either  directly  or  indirectly  and  collaterally  through 
uncles  or  aunts,  and  the  contracting  parties  are  both 
in  good  bodily  health,  the  risk  is  diminished  one 
half,  and  healthy  offspring  may  be  the  issue  of 
the  marriage. 

3.  If  there  have  been  no  signs  of  constitutional 
disease  for  a  whole  generation,  we  can  scarcely  con- 
sider the  risk  materially  lessened,  as  it  so  frequently 
reappears,  after  being  in  abeyance  for  a  whole 
generation. 


438  MAD  HUMANITY 

4.  If  two  whole  generations  have  escaped  any 
symptoms  of  hereditary  disease,  we  may  fairly  hope 
that  the  danger  has  passed,  and  that  the  morbific 
force  has  expended  itself. 

In  considering  these  rules  no  cases  arising  from 
accidental  causes  would  naturally  be  included. 

Dr.  Winn  has  stated  that  the  above  rules  have  a 
wide  bearing,  not  only  in  regard  to  insanity,  but  in  all 
hereditary  diseases,  for,  in  a  treatise  he  wrote  on  the 
Nature  and  Treatment  of  Hereditary  Disease,  in 
1869,  he  contended  that  all  hereditary  diseases  w^ere 
interchangeable — mutually  convertible. 

Intermarriage  of  Blood  Relations. — The  danger  is 
that  if  there  is  any  latent  morbific  force  in  the  con- 
stitution of  either  of  the  parties  (both  of  whom  are 
derived  from  a  common  ancestor),  which  may  have 
been  lying  dormant  for  one  or  more  generations,  in  the 
event  of  that  union  there  w^ould  be  a  double  prob- 
ability that  the  old  hereditary  disease  would  reappear  in 
the  offspring  in  some  form  or  other. 

If  we  admit  the  truism  of  this  solution,  then  it 
may  be  affirmed  that  provided  both  individuals  be 
healthy,  and  there  is  no  tendency  to  hereditary  disease, 
that  therefore  two  cousins  may  marry  without  risk. 
On  this  question  there  is,  however,  a  diversity  of 
opinion.  The  consideration  of  consanguineous 
marriages  is  an  important  one,  and  if  imprudently 
indulged  in  would  probably  play  a  conspicuous  part  in 
the  degeneration  of  the  human  race. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  place  before  my  readers  the 
most  important  facts  connected  with  the  subject.  I 
have  arranged  the  cha^jters  in  w^hat  I  consider  to  be 
their    proper     sequence,    terminating    with    that     on 


MENTAL  DEGENERATION  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE    439 

Degeneration.  I  have  avoided  all  treatment,  for  tliis 
is  not  my  object  in  writing  this  book.  The  condition 
and  well-being  of  the  insane  is  a  question  of  vital 
importance,  and  it  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  feel  that 
much  more  interest  is  now  taken  in  the  matter  than  was 
some  years  ago.  Had  I  decided  to  have  discussed  the 
therapeutical,  or  medical,  aspect  of  the  subject,  I  could 
have  shown  that  there  was  a  much  more  judicious,  skil- 
ful, and  humane  treatment  existing  at  the  present  day 
than  formerly,  and  that  the  number  of  recoveries  from 
insanity  was  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in  which 
these  curative  resources  have  been  used.  I  could 
also  have  shown  to  what  extent  lunatics  are  now 
benefited  by  the  immediate  recognition  of  the  early 
stages  of  the  disease,  and  by  its  active  treatment. 

Those  mentally  afflicted  are  not  now  regarded  as  wild 
beasts,  or  chained  like  felons  to  some  foul  pestilential 
dungeon,  and  exhibited  to  those  anxious  to  gratify 
their  morbid  tastes.  They  are  regarded  as  human 
beings,  fallen  from  their  high  estate,  and  prostrated  by 
a  malady  worse  than  death,  but  at  the  same  time  they 
are  amenable  to  kindness  and  treatment. 

In  the  old  days  premonitory  symptoms  in  mental 
disease  were  not  sufficiently  understood,  and  con- 
sequently many  cases  often  became  chronic,  but  at  the 
present  day,  with  the  advancement  of  science,  and  the 
exercise  of  prudence  and  humanity,  things  have  been 
mercifully  changed.  I  have  avoided  all  discussion  on 
the  subject  from  a  legal  sense,  from  the  fact  that  the 
law  is  constantly  changing,  or  threatening  to  be 
changed.  Many  patients  who  formerly  would  have 
been  at  once  incarcerated  in  lunatic  asylums  are  now 
taken  care  of  judiciously  in  private  houses ;  and  it  is 


440  MAD  HUMANITY 

to  be  hoped  that  when  any  new  Act  is  passed,  the 
power  will  be  given  for  at  least  three  patients  to  be 
legally  certified,  and  treated  in  private  families  under 
the  Commissioners'  inspection,  instead  of  being  placed, 
as  they  are  now,  among  dangerous  and  chronic  lunatics 
in  institutions.  At  present,  one  patient  alone  is 
allowed  to  be  received  into  a  private  house,  but  the 
time  has  come  for  this  to  be  altered.  It  is  a  sacred 
and  responsible  duty  to  administer  to  the  wants  of  the 
insane.  All  that  we  can  do  is  to  try  and  ameliorate 
their  unhappy  condition.  With  the  consciousness 
that  our  works  are  imperfect,  we  must  rely  for  future 
happiness  upon  the  goodness  and  great  mercy  of  God, 
and  not  upon  our  own  work  or  distinctions,  whilst  the 
responsibility  of  the  psychologist  is  ever  prominent. 
It  is  his  bounden  duty  to  use  such  gifts  as  he  may 
possess  in  the  conscientious  and  faithful  discharge  of 
his  sacred  duties,  both  anxious  and  solemn,  and  to  him 
I  would  address  the  admonition  of  William  C.  Bryant, 
one  of  America's  most  gifted  poets,  to — 

"  So  hve,  that  when  thy  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan,  that  moves 
To  that  mysterious  realm,  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  Halls  of  Death, 
Thou  go  not,  like  a  quarry-slave  at  night, 
Scourged  to  his  dungeon  ;  but  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  thy  grave 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 


INDEX 


Abraham-men,  122 

Actors,  ambition  of,  392 

causes  for  insanity  in,  409 

companies  of  mad,  406 

comparative  freedom  from  lunacy 
of,  387 

early  training  of,  391 

frequent  impersonation  of  same 
character  by,  387 

hallucinations  of,  388 

impressions  of  the  world  by,  397 

intensification  of  the  part  in,  388 

madness  of,  387 

melancholy  condition  of,  355,  412 

mental  collapse  of,  409 

overwork,  case  of,  241 

personality  in,  390 

statistics  of  lunacy  in,  387 

status  of,  397 

strange  feelings  in,  397 
Acute  mania,  34 

handwriting  in,  89 
Affections,  sudden  change  in,  233, 

268 
Alcohol,  and  marriage,  423 

case  of  progressive  degeneration 
from,  415 

cases  of  the  effect  of,  423-426 

causing  insanity,  413-426 

effects  of,  413-426 

fatal  forms  of,  419 

hereditary  nature   of,  414,  415, 
419,  423 

indulgence  in,  413-426 

termination  of,  418,  423-426 

types  of  degeneration  from,  419- 
423 


Alexandria,  insanity  in,  28 
Alfieri,  Vittoria,  genius  and  madness 

of,  343 
America,    insanity   in    North,    29, 

30 
lunacy  in,  26  \ 

Angelo,  Michael,  madness  of,  385 
Artists,  depiction  of  a  lunatic  by, 

294 
madness  of,  358 
Ashley,  Lord,  Lunacy  Bill  of,  14 
Asia,  lunacy  in,  27,  28 
Astronomer,  mind  of  the,  357 
Asylums,  past  history  of,  15 

Barry,  James,  genius  and  madness 
of,  359 

Beattie,  Dr.,  genius  and  madness  of, 
343 

Bell,  Professor  Charles,  observations 
by,  294 

Bethlem  Hospital,  description  of,  8 
payments  to  inspect,  7 
Scene  in  a  Madhouse,  Hogarth's 
picture  of,  7 

Bible  misinterpreted,  causing  sui- 
cide, 171 

Blake,  William,  genius  and  madness 
of,  371 

Bloomfield,  Eobert,  genius  and  mad- 
ness of,  345 

Blow  on  head,  insanity  caused  by, 
275 

Brain  diseases,  views  of  the  late 
Dr.  Forbes  Winslow  on  ob- 
scure, 202 

Broken  heart,  154 


442 


MAD  HUMANITY 


Bimn,  case  of  murderous  assault  by, 

218 
Barus,  Robert,  genius  and  madness 

of,  344 
Burton,  description  of  melancholy 

by,  160 
Byron,  Lord,  genius  and  madness 

of,  352 
on  melancholy,  132 
on  woman's  love,  154 

Cairo,  insanity  in,  28 
Causes  of  insanity,  23 

of  insanity  in  women,  227 
of  suicide,  148 
Canning,  political  collapse  of,  411 
Carlini,  melancholy  state  of,  356 
Cellini,  Benveuuto,  genius  and  mad- 
ness, 358 
Chatterton,    Thomas,    genius    and 

madness  of,  344 
Chelsea   Vestry,     strange    conduct 

of,  219 
Childhood,  cases  of  insanity  in,  275- 

281 
moral  insanity  in,  74 
Chronic  mania,  64 
handwriting  in,  109 
photographs  in,  34 
Churchill,  Lord  Randolph,  mental 

collapse  of,  411 
Cicero,  remarks  on  genius  by,  337 
Cigarette  smoking,  injurious  effects 

on  youths,  429 
Civil  and  criminal  law,  difference 

between,  192 
Civilisation     producing      insanity, 

influence  of,  29 
Clare,  John,  genius  and  madness  of, 

354 
Clergymen     annoyed     by    lunatic 

women,  228 
cases  of,  228,  229 
Coke,  Lord,  division  of  lunacy  by, 

182 
Coleridge,    Samuel   Taylor,    genius 

and  madness  of,  349 
Collins,  William,  genius  and  mad- 
ness of,  342 
Commissioners  in  lunacy,  remarks 

on  private  asylums  by,  18 


Commissioners  in  Lunacy,  views  of, 

on  the  increase  of  insanity,  22 
Committees  of  House  of  Commons 

on  lunacy,  13 
Concealment  of  delusions,  273 

cases  of,  238,  239 
Confessions  of  insane  after  recovery, 

293 
Consanguineous  marriages,  439 
Conscience  suddenly  and  morbidly 

affected,  123 
Consumption  and  insanity,  relations 

between,  26 
Contamination,  imaginary  cases  of, 

40,  240 
Cowper,  William,  genius  and  mad- 
ness of,  342 
Crime,  hereditary  nature   of,  199, 

434  ;  moral  insanity  and,  286 
Criminal,  cases  and  civil,  difference 

between,  193 
madness,  181-204 
plea  of  insanity  in,  181-186 
Cruelty  evinced  in  insanity,  274 

cases  of,  275 
Currah,  plea  of  insanity  in  case  of, 

211 

Deaf  mute,  case  of,  253 
Deaths,  causes  of,  25 
Degeneration,    alcoholic,    types   of, 
419-423 
case  of  progressive,  433 
cases  of,  415,  418,  423-426 
causes  of,  413 
hereditary  influence  on,  415,  431- 

438 
opium  eating  and,  426 
youthful  cigarette  smoking  and, 
429 
Delirium  tremens,  cases  of,  415,423- 

425 
Delusions    in,    criminal    madness, 
190 
general  paralysis  of  the  insane, 

56 
mania,  35,  65 
melancholia,  46 
monomania,  39 
religious  madness,  125 
suicidal  madness,  172 


INDEX 


443 


Delusions  of  a  visit  to  the  planets, 

315 
being  a  prophet,  317 
being  an  animal,  237 
being  in  heaven,  250 
being  in  hell,  161 
being  killed,  241 
black  cats  in  the  room,  54 
committing  the  unpardonable  sin, 

128 
concealment,  239,  273 
cruelty  to  animals,  275 
demonomania,  38,  353,  371 
demonomania     in      a     morphia 

maniac,  320 
divine  possession,  239 
doing  things  three  times,  233 
end  of  world,  308 
fear,  44 

fighting  a  phantom,  252 
grandeur,  344 
grandeur  in  a  boy,  50 
homicide,  290 

imaginary  affection,  228,  231 
imaginary    contamination    from 

dogs,  240 
imaginary  wickedness,  129,  333 
incarnate  possession,  239 
individuality,  duplex,  328 
infection  through  the  post,  40 
loss  of  personal  identity,  237 
mistaking    fingers   for    a    cigar, 

246 
over-susceptibility,  242,  249 
paralysis,  232 

persecution,  49,  254,  296,  359 
phantasmagoria,  339 
possession  of  a  sovereign  power, 

256 
possession  of  an  internal  witch, 

230 
possession  of  great  strength,  64 
pursuing  clergymen,  228 
riding  a  gun,  259 
self-accusation,  41 
single  word  haunting  a  patient, 

254 
suspicion,  235 
want  of  confidence,  149 
want  of  control,  50 
Delusion,  partial,  189 


Dementia,  65 

handAvriting  in,  101 
photographs  in,  290 
Demonomania,  38 

cases    of,    230,    297,    320,    353, 

371 
Despair,  its  influence  on  the  mind 

169 
Detection  of  feigned  insanity,   84, 

85 
Diagnosis   of  general   paralysis   of 

the  insane,  60 
Dickens,    Charles,    description    of 

madman  by,  293 
Dipsomania,  422 
Diseases  on  admission   of  patients 

into  asylums,  22 
Double  vision  in  insanity,  69 
Dramatic  performances  by  lunatics, 

406 
Drunkards,  termination  of,  415 
Dyer,  Mrs.,  case  of,  217 

Eccentricity  and  monomania,  83 
Epidemics  of  religious  madness,  121 

of  suicide,  158 
Epilepsy,  in  insanity,  38 

photographs  of  mania  and,  410 
Erskine,  Lord,  views  of,  on  responsi- 
bility of  the  insane,  185 
Exaggerated  insanity,  80 
Experiments  on  lunatics,  5 

Failure  of  memory,  cases  of,  242, 

248,  282 
Fears  of  the  insane,  44 
Feigned  madness,  80-83 

cases  of,  85,  85 

detection  of,  83 
Felo  de  se,  verdict  of,  in  suicide, 

176 
Ferguson  Robert,  genius  and  mad- 
ness of,  343 
Folie  de  doute,  symptoms  of,  44 
Folie  raisonante,  42 

photograph  of,  190 
Fox,  mental  collapse  of,  411 
France,  causes  for  suicide  in,  174 

Gall,  Dr.,  remarks  on  suicide  of, 
165 


444 


MAD  HUMANITY 


General    paralysis   of    the   insane, 
55 
cases  of,  64,  244,  247 
handwriting  in,  99 
pliotograplis  descriptive  of,  60 
George    III.,    King,    madness    of, 

260 
Girls,  insanity  in,  233 
Glover,  Mrs.,  earliest  recollections 

of,  396 
Gordon,  Mr.,  Limacy  Bill  of,  14 
Grimaldi,  the  clowu,  a  melancholy 

man,  355 
Guilt,  mental  influence  of,  151 

Hale,  Lord,  on  insanity,  185 
Hallucinations  of  hearing  and  see- 
ing, and  their  effects,  43,  205 
Hallucinations,    artists    and,    358, 
371 
cases  of,  206-224 
kleptomania  caused  by,  219 
medical  student,  case  of,  222 
murders  caused  through,  206-217 
nursemaid,  case  of,  221 
opium,    or   morphia,  habit   pro- 
ducing, 320 
poets  and,  357 
photoffraphs  descriptive  of,  190, 

206^  222 
sleeping  and  waking,  grave  nature 
between,  252 
HandA\Titing  of  the  insane,  87 
Haydon,  Benjamin   Robert,  genius 

and  madness  of,  372 
Head,  blow  on,    causing   insanity, 

275 
Headache,      persistent,      a      grave 

symptom,  70 
Hereditary  nature   of  crime,   199, 
434 
homicide,  199 
insanitj^,  431 
suicide,  163,  249 
transmission  in  marriage  of,  436 
Heredity    and    degeneration,    415, 
431-438 
cases  of,  432,  433 
in  melancholia,  47 
]irimary  cause  of  mental  collapse 
from,  431 


Homicidal  insanity,  apparent  ration- 
ality of,  195 
cases  of,  205-224 
curability  of,  75 
hereditary  nature  of,  199 
judges  on,  188 
monomania  and,  41,  75 
repudiated  by  the  Bench,  190 
Hogarth's  picture,  Sce'ne  in  a  Mad- 

house,  7 
Hope  in  siiicide,  147 
Howard,  insanity  of,  274 
Hyperaesthesia,    symptom    of    ap- 
proaching mental  derangement, 
206 
Hypochondriasis   and   melancliolia, 
48 
and  suicide,  159 
Hysterical  mania,  232 
photographs  of,  276 

Idiocy,  66 
Imbecility,  66 

handwriting  in,  115 
photogi'aphs  descriptive  of,  76 
Impulse    and    insanity,    cases    of, 

287 
Infatuation,  120 
Influenza  followed  by  melancholia, 

49 
Insane,  condition  of,  at  the  present 
time,  21-32 
condition  of,  in  the  olden  time, 

14-20 
confessions  of  the,  after  recovery, 

293 
general  paralysis  of  the,  55 
superstitious  feeling  regarding,  6 
Insanity,    cases   of,    actor,    strange 
symptoms  in,  241 
acute     mania :     confessions      of 
patient,  322  ;  in  a  child  aged 
six,  280  ;  occurring  in  a  rail- 
way train,  231 
animal,  delusion  of  being  an,  237 
blow  on  head  by  an  usher,  275 
blushing  from  over-sensitiveness, 

242 
Bunn,     murderous     attack      on 

mother  by,  218 
cataleptic  conxiilsions,  276 


INDEX 


445 


Insanity,  cases  of,  cataleptic  mad- 
ness, 234 
cat's  face  iu  a  woman,  234 
cliild  aged  six,  sudden  attack  of, 

280 
concealment  of  delusions,  238 
cruelty  to  animals  iu  a  boy,  275 
Currah,  murder,  homicide,  plea  of 

insanity,  211 
deaf  mute,  253 

deficient  mental  concentration,  53 
delirium  tremens,  415,  423 
demoniacal  possession,  confession 

of  patient,  297 
demonomania,  38,  230,  297,  320, 

353,  371 
disappointed  hopes,  pathetic  case 

of,  9 
divine  spirit,  possession  of,  239 
Dodwell,  the   Kev.   Mr.,  assault 

by,  195 
dogs,    imaginary    contamination 

by,  240 
drugging,    imaginary,    associated 

with    homicidal    and   suicidal 

ideas,  241 
drunkenness,  415,  423-426 
exaggerated  symptoms  in  a  wo- 
man, 232 
fanaticism  and  homicide,  43 
faces  of  people  changing,  238 
feigned,  84 

fixed  look  staring  at  vacancy,  72 
folie  de  doiUe,  44 
general  paralysis  of  the  insane,  64 
general   paralysis    mistaken    for 

drink,  strange  case  of,  244 
George  III.,   King,   madness  of, 

260 
hallucinations    of    hearing     and 

seeing   and   the  consequences, 

206-224,  250,  254  ;  caused  by 

morphia  habit,  320 
headache  following  blow,  275 
hereditary  insanity,  432 
hereditary  suicide,  249 
hilarity  followed  by  depression, 

73 
homicidal,  206-224,  249 
homicidal    and    suicidal    action 

combined,  241 


Insanity,  cases  of,  horrible  language 
and  violence  in  a  boy,  76 

Howard,  274 

hypochondriasis  and  insanity,  48 

hysterical  paralysis,  238 

imaginary  inaccuracy  in  a  phy- 
sician, 73  • 

imaginary  infection  through  the 
post,  40 

imaginary  persecution,  254 

imaginary  suspicion,  235 

impulsive  insanity,  287 

impulsive  insanity  from  a  blow, 
serious  case,  275 

influenza  and  melancholia,  49 

injury  to  skull,  248 

intermittent  jealousy,  235 

kidnapping  a  British  subject,  243 

kleirtomania,  219 

Lee,  Nathaniel,  genius  and  mad- 
ness of,  339 

Listen,  the  great  comic  actor,  a 
melancholy  man,  355 

loquacity  in  general  paralysis, 
64 

madmen,  240 

madwomen,  225 

mania  in  woman :  witchcraft, 
strange  cases,  39,  230 

mania  for  repeated  Avashing,  50 

manie  raisonante,  42 

melancholia,  49 

methodical  lunacy,  233 

memory,  extraordinary  failure  of, 
282 

memory,  loss  of,  67,  242,  248 

memory,  loss  of,  in  softening,  73 

mental  debility  from  overwork, 
242 

mental  weakness,  attempt  at 
suicide,  236 

monomania  of  killing,  41,  291 

moral,  76 

morbid  idea  as  to  new  clothes, 
234 

morbid  suspicion,  235 

morphia  habit,  confessions  of  a 
patient  whilst  under  its  influ- 
ence, 320 

Mullens,  case  of,  plea  of  in- 
sanity, 194 


446 


MAD  HUMANITY 


Insanity,  cases  of,  nervous  dread  of 
suicide  where  it  was  heredi- 
tary, 249 

noises  in  the  ears,  249 

obscurity,  263-292 

over -conscientiousness  with  sui- 
cidal tendencies,  249 

over  -  sensitiveness,       imaginary 
failures,  149 

overwork    causing     mental    de- 
bility, 242 

overwork,  confessions  of  patient, 
322 

paroxysmal,  276 

persecution,  delusion  of,  49,  254, 
296 

plotting  among  the  insane,  rare 
case  of,  250 

poisoning,  attempt  at,  53,  76 

possession    of    a    "  Sovereign  " 
power,  256 

progressive  degeneration,  433 

prophetic  delusions,    confessions 
of  patient,  317 

recovery,  sudden,  from,  236 

religious  confessions,  129 
.   religious  demonomania,  297 

religious  melancholia,  127    ' 

Richardson's    homicide,    plea   of 
insanity,  209 

riding  a  gun,  259 

scarlet  fever,  singular  case  of,  276 

seeking  solitude,  52 

single  word,  haunted  by  a,  254 

sleejiing   and  waking,    delusions 
between,  252 

softening  of  the  brain,  71 

speech,  loss  of,  242 

stealing  in  a  boy,  77 

sudden  attack  of  insanity  in  a 
woman,  231 

sudden  recovery,  236 

sudden  suicidal  impulse,  197 

suicidal    insanity    with    various 
delusions,  283 

suicide,     extraordinary     confes- 
sion, 325 

Taylor's  case,  homicide,  plea  of 
insanity,  206 

titanic  convulsions,  strange  case 
of,  276 


Insanity,  cases  of,  unrecognised,  263 

wearing  new  clothes,  234 
Insanity,  acute,  34 

among  savages,  30 

brutality  and,  274 

caused  by  alcohol,  413 

caused  by  opium,  426 

caused  by  tobacco,  428 

causes  of,  23 

causes  of,  in  women,  227 

change  of  manner  and  disposition 
in,  269 

chronic,  64 

combined  with  cruelty,  274 

confessions  after  recovery  in,  293 

consumption  and  its  relation  to, 
26 

crime   and   its   connection  with, 
181 

dangerous  symptoms  in,  190 

deaths  in,  causes  of,  25 

definition  of,  33 

delusions  may  be  absent  in,  274 

division  of,  184 

exaggerated  form  of,  80 

feigned,  80 

forewarniugs  in,  266 

from  sudden  shock,  248 

hereditary  influence  in  producing, 
199,  249 

homicidal,  181 

homicidal,     repudiated    by     the 
Bench,  190 

in  Asia,  Cairo,  and  Alexandria,  27, 
28 

in  children,  74,  270,  280,  435 

in  combination,  250 

in  connection  with  marriage,  21 

increase  of,  21 

influence  of  civilisation  in   pro- 
ducing, 29 

influence  of  drink  in  producing, 
24,  413 

influence  of  seasons  on,  24,  226 

in  North  America,  30 

in  Russia  and  Turkey,  32 

latent,  268,  274 

methodical,  233 

mental  struggle  on  the  appear- 
ance of,  270 

moral,  74 


INDEX 


447 


Insanity,  of  early  childhood,  270, 

280 
of  genius,  337 
of  old  age,  67 
opposition  to  plea  of,  182 
partial.  Lords  Hale   and  Lynd- 

hurst  on,  196 
plea  of,  in  criminal  cases,  the  late 

Forbes    WinsloAv,    M.D,,    on, 

202 
premonitory  indications  of,  252, 

269 
religious,  119 
responsibility  in,  183 
statistics  of,  21 
statistics  of,  in  women,  225 
symiDtoms  of,  in  women,  228 
unrecognised  symptoms  of,  263 
Incubation  of  insanity,  34 
Insomnia  in  acute  mania,  34 
Ireland,  lunacy  in,  26 

Jealousy  causing  suicide,  156 
Jerusalem,  hospital  opened  there,  2 
Johnson,  Dr.,  genius  and  madness 
of,  340 
dread  of  death,  162 
on  suicide,  143 
Judges,  propositions  laid  down  by, 
188,  189 

Kent,  Constance,  case  of,  195 
Kleptomania,  77 

cases  of,  219 

caused  by  hallucinations,  219 

diagnosis  of,  79 
Kund,   Gottfried,  genius  and  mad- 
ness of,  384 

Lamb,  Charles,  genius  and  madness 

of,  350 
Landseer,    Sir  EdA\^n,   genius   and 

madness  of,  362 
Latent  insanity,  268,  274 
Lee,  Nathaniel,  genius  and  madness 

of,  339 
Letters    of    alphabet,    inability   to 

pronounce  them,  70 
Lloyd,  Charles,  genius  and  madness 

of,  351 


Lombroso,  Professor,  views  of,  on 

genius,  337,  410 
Love,  eflect  of,  on  the  human  race, 
153 
unrequited,  a  cause   of  suicide, 
153 
Lunacy,  Commission  of,  and  murder 
trial,  distinction  between,  192 
derivation  of  the  term,  33 
division  of,  by  Lord  Coke,  182 
in  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  America, 

26 
statistics  in  England  of,  21 
statistics  in  women  of,  226 
Lunatic  asylums,  horrors  of,  in  the 
olden  days,  16 
at  the  present  day,  18 
Lunatics,  experiments  on,  5 

hanging,     opinion    of    the    late 

Forbes  Winslow  on,  203 
ill-treatment  of,  14 
restraint  of,  in  the  olden  time,  16 
Luther,  Martin,  remarks  of,  on  the 

drama,  408 
Lyndhurst,    Lord,    on    partial   in- 
sanity, 196 

Macklin,   Charles,  genius,  habits, 

and  mental  collapse  of,  393 
Macnaughten,  case  of,  plea  of  in- 
sanity in,  181 
Madhouse,    youthful    recollections 

of,  by  an  inmate,  329 
Madhouses,  history  of,  1 
Madmen,  strange  cases  of,  240 
photographs   of  some  types  of, 
260 
Madness,  confessions  after  recovery 
from,  293 
criminal,  181 
drink  and,  413 
epidemic  of  religious,  120    " 
epidemic  of  suicidal,  158 
feigned,  80 
feigned  cases  of,  84 
grave  sjTnptoms  in,  60,  68 
obscure  cases  of,  263 
of  genius,  337 
Plato's  paradox  on,  337 
portrayal  on  the  stage  of,  231 
premonitory  indications  of,  34, 69 


448 


MAD  HUMANITY 


Madness,  religious,  119 

strange  cases  of,  225 

suicidal,  142 

unrecognised  cases  of,  263 
Madwomen,  strange  cases  of,  225 

photographs    of  some  types   of, 
238 
Mania,  acute,  34 

associated    with    demonomania, 
38 

confessions  during  an  attack  of, 
322 

delusions  in,  35 

diagnosis  of,  37 

epileptic,  38 

handwriting  in,  88 

homicidal,  205-224 

hysterical,  232 

photographs  in,  276 

suicidal,  142 

terminations  of,  36 
Mania,  chronic,  64 

handwriting  in,  109 

paroxysmal  attacks  in,  65 

photographs  in,  34 

terminations  of,  65 
Manie  raisonaiite,  42 

l^hotograph  in,  190 
Mansfield,    Lord,    on   criminal   re- 
sponsibility, 183 
Marriage,  consanguineous,  438 

drink  and,  423 

Dr.  Winn  on,  437 

hereditary  influences  on,  437 

rules  regarding,  436 
Melancholia,  45 

cases  of,  49-55 

diagnosis  of,  48 

handwriting  in,  91 

influenza  and,  49 

photographs,  descriptive  of,  48 

religious,  125 

Shakespeare's  description  of,  134 

suicide  and,  272 

transient  symptoms  of,  273 

varieties  of,  46 
Memory,  condition  of,  in  softening 
of  the  brain,  70 

failure  of,  extraordinary  case  of, 
282 

failure  of,  in  insanity,  63,  70 


Memory,    failure    of,    in    general 
paralysis  of  the  insane,  63 
loss  of,  strange  case  of,  242,  248 
old  age  and,  67 
re  -  establishment  of,   means  for, 

67 
test  of,  57 
Mental   emotions,  influence  of,   on 
the  body,  146 
influence  in  suicide,  146 
philosophy,  value  of,  as  a  branch 

of  education,  145 
weakness,  photographs,  76 
Milton,  description  of  poetic  mind, 

169 
Mind,  the  poetic,  357 
Miser,  mental  state  of  a,  83 
Misplacement   of    words,    a   grave 

symptom,  71 
Monomania,  39 
delusions  in,  39 
homicidal,  43 
of  infection,  cases  of,  40 
of  persecution,  41 
photographs,  descriptive  of,  134, 

190 
suicidal,  43,  178 
Monrose,    overwork     and     mental 

disease  of,  395 
Moral  insanity,  74 
and  crime,  287 
and  homicide,  290 
and  suicide,  287 
cases  of,  76 
Mordaunt,  Philip,  suicide  of,  176 
Morland,  George,  genius  and  mad- 
ness of,  384 
Morphia,  hallucinations  caused  by, 

conifessions  of  a  patient,  320 
Motiveless  crime  in  the  young  due 

to  insanity,  270 
Mozart  and  his  phantoms,  386 
Mullens,   case  of,  plea  of  insanity 

in,  194 
Murray,  W.,  sudden  mental  seizure 
of,  389 

Napoleon  Buonaparte,  attempted 
suicide  of,  167 
extraordinary  power  of  conceal- 
ing his  emotions,  388 


INDEX 


449 


Old   Kent   Murder,   extraordinary 

verdict,  198 
Oliver  Cromwell's  porter,  insanity 

of,  5 
Opium,    degeneration    caused    by, 
426 
early  death  from,  428 
fascination  for,  427 
indulgence  in,  427 
infatuation  for,  426 
smoking  in  China  and  New  York 
of,  426,  427 
Overwork,  cases  of,  71,  242 
causing  insanity,  68 
confession    of    patient    suffering 
from,  322 

Pagaxixi,  eccentricity  and  genius 

of,  356 
Pain,   insensibility  of  lunatics  to, 

36 
Paralysis,   general,   of  the   insane, 
55 
diagnosis  of,  60 
hand-\\Titing  in,  99 
photographs  in,  61 
strange  case  of,  244 
Paralysis    of    tongue,    in    general 
paralysis  of  the  insane,  57 
in  softening  of  the  brain,  70,  71 
Paranaphobia,  44 
Paris,  experiments  on  lunatics  in,  5 

suicides  in,  174 
Passions  as  a  stimulus,  146,  178 
Percival,  James  Gates,  genius  and 

madness  of,  351 
Persecution,  cases  of,  49,  254,  296 
monomania  of,  41 
photographs   descriptive   of,   48, 
134 
Phantasy,  indulgence  in,  410 
Pitt,  mental  collapse  of,  411 
Plato,  paradox  of,  337 
Plausibility  in  the  insane,  42 
Plotting  among  the  insane,  case  of, 

250 
Poe,  Edgar,  genius  and  madness  of, 

355 
Poets,  madness  of,  339 
Political  excitement  causing  suicide, 
158 


Premonitions  of  insanity,  69,  252, 

269 
Press,  influence  of,  in  a  case,  244 
Pride,  false,  and  suicide,  166 
Prince,  case  of,  extraordinary  ver- 
dict and  conclusions,  194 

Reading  murder,  217 
Reasoning,  distortion  of,  178 

madness,  and  photograph  of,  42, 
190 
Religion  and  fanaticism,  121 
Religious  madness,  aspect  of  patient 
suffering  from,  131 
cases  of,  127,  129 
causes  of,  134 
confessions  of,  cases  of,  317 
demonomania     associated    vnth, 

38 
erroneous  \iews  in,  causing  sui- 
cide, 170 
ingress  of,  125 
melancholia  and,  131 
suicide  associated  with,  132 
symptoms  of,  126 
terminations  of,  134 
Religious  scruples,  their  effect  on 
the  mind,  126 
monomania,  symptom  of,  43 
Remorse,  its  effects  on  the  mind, 

150 
Responsibility  of  the  insane,  exist- 
ing law  relating  to,  186 
Lord  Erskine's  views  on,  185 
opinion  of  judges  years  ago  on, 
189 
Richardson,  case  of,  210 
RiddeU,  Henry   Scott,  genius   and 

madness  of,  355 
Right   and   wrong,    distinction  be- 
tween, a  criterion  in  criminal 
cases,  192 
Rogers,   Charles,  genius  and  mad- 
ness of,  345 
Rotterdam,  strange  case  in,  243 
Rouen,  suicides  at,  173 
Rousseau,  Jean  Jacques,  genius  and 

madness  of,  341 
Royal     Society,     experiments     on 

lunatics  before  the,  5 
Russia,  insanity  in,  32 


2   G 


450 


MAD  HUMANITY 


Savage,  Richard,  340 
Savages  aud  insanity,  30 
Schiller,  Friedrich,  genius  and  mad- 
ness of,  344 
Scotland,  lunacy  in,  26 
Scott,    Sir   Walter,    description   of 
Napoleon's  attempt  at  suicide 
by,  167 
genius  and  madness  of,  345 
post-mortem  appearance  of  brain 
of,  346 
Seasons,   influence  of,   on  insanity, 
24,  226 
influence  of,  on  suicide,  173 
Shakespeare,    demise    recorded    in 
library  of   Medical  Society  of 
London,  356 
definition  of  madness,  193 
description  of  death  by,  162 
jealousy,  157 
madness,  193 
melancholy,  134 
mercy,  204 
suicide,  ISO 
Shelley,  Percy  Bysshe,  genius  and 

madness  of,  353 
Siddons,    Mrs.,    identification  with 

her  part,  388 
Single  patients  in  private  houses, 

care  advocated  of,  440 
Smart,     Christopher,     genius     and 

madness  of,  342 
Softening  of  the  brain,  description 
of,  68 
typical  cases  of,  71 
Southey,  Robert,  genius  and  mad- 
ness of,  350 
Speech,  loss  of,  in  general  paralysis 
of  the  insane,  57 
loss  of,  in  softening  of  the  brain, 
70 
St.   Luke's  Hospital  in   the  olden 

days,  16 
Statement  made  by  lunatics,  credi- 
bility of,  195 
Statistics  of  insanity  in  England  and 
Wales,  21 
in  Ireland,  26 
in  Scotland,  26 
in  women,  225 
Statistics  of  suicide,  173 


Strange  lunacy  cases,  225 

handwriting  in,  113 
Suicidal  madness,  142 
ami  felo  de  se,  176 
associated  with  melancholy,  159 
cases  of,  161 
curability  of,  75 
monomania  in,  178 
Suicide,  142 

average  per  month  of,  173 

cases  of,  149 

cases  of  unrecognised,  283 

causes  for,  148 

clubs  for,  175 

contemplation      of,      142,      177, 

273  ' 
defective  religious  education  and, 

174 
dementia    and    photographs    of, 

315 
despair,  influence  of,  in  producing, 

169 
during  the  French  and  American 

revolutions,  158 
erroneous  religious  views,  170 
extraordinary  case  of  attempted, 

325 
false  pride  and,  166 
felo  de  se,  verdict  of,  176 
France,  in,  cases  of,  174 
guilty  conscience  and,  151 
hereditary  nature  of,  163,  249 
increase  of,  158 
in  France,  causes  of,  174 
in  London,  the  number  of,  174 
in  Paris,  the  number  of,  174 
latent  symptoms  in,  273 
love,  influence  of,  in,  153 
mental  influences  and,  146 
Napoleon  Buonaparte's   attempt 

at,  167 
not  considered  an  ofi'ence,  176 
obscure  cases  of,  283 
political  excitement  causing,  158 
predisposition  to,  163 
religious  influence  in,  132 
remorse,  influence  of,  in,  150 
seasons,    influence    of,    in    pro- 
ducing, 173 
shock,  influence  of,  in  producing, 

151 


IXDEX 


451 


Suicide,  statistics  of,  173 

strauge  ideas  respecting,  166 
Swift,  Jonathan,  genius  and  mad- 
ness of,  340 

Talma,  Francois  Joseph,  a  versatile 

actor,  394 
Taste,  loss  of,   grave  symptom   in 

drunkards,  426 
Taylor,  case  of  homicide,  206 
Tobacco,  cigarette  smoking,  remarks 

on,  429 
.     degeneration  caused  by,  413,  428 
injurious  effects  of,  428 
Lancet,  the,  on,  430 
over-indulgence  in,  430 
terrible    effects    on   the    youner, 

429 
use  and  abuse  of,  429 
Tongue,    affection    of,    in    general 
paralysis  of  the  insane,  57 
in  softening  of  the  brain,  70 
Tortures  of  a  guilty  conscience,  151 
To-nmsend,  Mr.,  Lunacy  Bill  of,  13 
Tremblay,  Mr.,  genius  and  mania 

for  hoarding,  382 
Turner,    Joseph   Mallord  William, 
genius  and  madness  of,  372 

Unrecognised  insanity,  263 

confessions    of  patient   suffering 

from,  273 
dangers  of  failing  to  detect,  263 
forewarnings  in,  266,  269 
homicide  caused  in  consequence 

of,  291 


Unrecognised  insanity,  importance 

of  early  recognition  of,  264 
in  childhood,  and  cases  of,  270, 

275 
monomaniacal  variety  of,  267 
predisposition  to,  often  exists  in, 

270 
premonitory  symptoms  in,  269 
suicide  caused  in  consequence  of, 

and  cases  of,  272,  283 

Walton,    Coralie,    genius,    extra- 
ordinary behaviour,  and  delu- 
sions of,  396 
Warren,  Samuel,  his  custom  of  con- 
ducting a  lunacy  inquiry,  196 
Winn,  Dr.,  rules  as  to  hereditary 
transmission  and  marriage,  437 
Women,  causes  for  lunacy  in,  227 
constitution  and  feelings  in,  153, 

228 
delusions  as  to  unrequited  love 

in,  153 
exaggerated  insanity  in,  238 
insanity  in,  225 
persecuting  clergymen,  228 
photographs  of  some  t}^es  of,  238 
secret  drinkiug  by,  422 
statistics  of  insanity  in,  225 
strange  symptoms  often  seen  in, 

228 
sudden  mania  in,  case  of,  231 
symptoms  of  lunacy  in,  232 

York  County  Asylum,  description 
of  interior  of,  in  olden  days,  14 


THE    END 


Printed  by  R.  &  R.  Clark,  Limited,  EdMurgh. 


0 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


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DATE  SEN 

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